UK-Africa Space Technology Knowledge Exchange Tour Report: Discover strategies to build an innovative global space ecosystem
Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa recently organised a tour to the UK for key space sector stakeholders from Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa to explore the UK’s world-leading space industry technologies.
Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa recently organised a knowledge exchange tour to the UK for key space sector stakeholders from Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. The tour, which was funded by UK International Development in partnership with Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) and facilitated by Research Institute of Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS), was designed to foster collaboration between the UK’s advanced space sector and the visiting countries, emphasising ecosystem building, partnership opportunities, and addressing common challenges.
This report outlines the learnings captured and unpacks the value-add it provided to the stakeholders across each of the participating territories.
The tour covered the whole space technology value chain, from the technologies going up into space, how the data is collected and analysed, and how that data is then used for social impact and business models down on earth. These aspects included space sustainability, investment opportunities, academic collaborations, rocket manufacturing capabilities to downstream applications, and how to enable the creation of these in Africa. The delegates explored the UK’s space sector’s world-leading capabilities in developing space technologies and innovations, particularly in key areas such as new launch capabilities, financing, legal, the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and extensive industrial networks.
This report outlines how the UK and Africa can strengthen its space industry knowledge exchange partnership through collaborating to boost space technology into the future.
Alana Kruger, Knowledge Transfer Manager ‑ Global Alliance Africa, South Africa, Innovate UK Business Connect
Key findings
Read this report to discover the activities that took place within the tour and how the UK and Africa can collaborate and knowledge share now and in the future:
- Innovation and sustainability in space
- Investment opportunities in the space sector to enable the space entrepreneurial ecosystem to thrive
- Advancing the vision and ambition of the UK and Africa space industry through offering business support programmes to help space businesses grow
- How academic, SME, corporate and government organisations can boost space technology forwards through developing technologies such as rocket manufacturing and launch capabilities
- Skills development to create a talented workforce that together can increase aerospace R&D
About Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa
Global Alliance Africa is a six-year project funded by UK International Development through Innovate UK (GCRF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
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Webpage iuk.ktn-uk.org/programme/africa
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