Nigeria is seeking more than $1 billion in investment to expand its space industry as African leaders push for greater technological sovereignty, stronger control of space resources and reduced dependence on foreign satellite capabilities.
Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who represented Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, disclosed the investment potential to BusinessDay, at the International Space Summit in Paris, where he said Nigeria was seeking global investors and strategic partners to expand its space capabilities.
Nigeria is seeking more than $1 billion in investment to expand its space industry as African leaders push for greater technological sovereignty, stronger control of space resources and reduced dependence on foreign satellite capabilities.
Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who represented Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, disclosed the investment potential to BusinessDay, at the International Space Summit in Paris, where he said Nigeria was seeking global investors and strategic partners to expand its space capabilities.
Nigeria is seeking more than $1 billion in investment to expand its space industry as African leaders push for greater technological sovereignty, stronger control of space resources and reduced dependence on foreign satellite capabilities.
Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, minister of Innovation, Science and Technology of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who represented Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president of Nigeria, disclosed the investment potential to BusinessDay, at the International Space Summit in Paris, where he said Nigeria was seeking global investors and strategic partners to expand its space capabilities.
Djibouti launched its first two nanosatellites after training 10 young Djiboutians in space systems through cooperation with the Montpellier University Space Centre.
Ahmed said the rapid growth of satellite constellations and the number of objects in orbit meant Africa needed to protect its legitimate access to spectrum and orbital resources.
‘Africa is not asking for privileges. It is simply asking that its legitimate right be preserved for the future and to prevent an injustice of tomorrow,’ he said.
For Nigeria, the push is increasingly tied to both economic opportunity and national security.
Udeh said Nigeria was already deploying space technology for security and defence, although he declined to disclose sensitive details. He said the country was also deploying signal analytics and working to expand its space capabilities for national security.
‘Space technology is just an aspect of what could be leveraged to address insecurity in the country and improve our defence,’ he said.
The minister said the opportunity was not limited to Nigeria because the country was already a major player in Africa’s space industry and other African countries depended on Nigerian space capabilities.
‘This is not just for our consumption, but also for the use of other countries in Africa that depend on us,’ he said.
That regional role is also behind Nigeria’s plan to host Africa Space Economy, Conference and Exhibition in Abuja from November 23 to 27, 2026.
Udeh said more than 50 chief executives of African space agencies had indicated interest in attending the summit, alongside ministers responsible for innovation, science and technology and related sectors.
The objective is to move African space cooperation from declarations to joint projects that countries can develop and benefit from collectively, he said, adding that, ‘This is not a time we can afford to fragment. It is a time to collaborate and achieve what we can achieve as a whole, not achieve as parts.’
Félix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, similarly called for deeper African integration in space, arguing that the continent needed to develop its own capabilities rather than depend entirely on external systems.
Tshisekedi said space had moved from being a distant technological frontier to an essential platform for Africa’s development, security and sovereignty.
He proposed the creation of a space partnership for the Congo Basin, aimed at using satellite data and space technology to protect the region’s vast ecological resources.
The DRC also proposed the creation of a Congo Basin Space Observatory in Brazzaville, with a regional and cross-border mandate in partnership with the African Space Agency.
Tshisekedi said countries responsible for protecting the Congo Basin needed access to space data and the capacity to process it, alongside trained scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs.
He also proposed using space technology for conflict prevention, territorial monitoring and border management, arguing that an Africa dependent on foreign systems to observe its territory, manage data or anticipate crises would remain vulnerable.
‘An Africa that depends entirely on others to observe its territory, communicate, manage its data or anticipate its crises remains a vulnerable Africa,’ Tshisekedi said.
The push for greater African space sovereignty comes against the backdrop of a wider global race for strategic autonomy in space. European leaders at the Paris summit are themselves seeking to reduce dependence on external satellite and launch systems, while coordinating national programmes to compete more effectively with the United States and China.
The International Space Summit, held in Paris on September 9 and 10, brought together governments, space agencies, companies, scientists and other stakeholders to discuss the economics, security, technology and regulation of the rapidly changing space sector. France said 90 countries and international organisations were represented, with nearly 1,100 space companies attending.
For Nigeria, however, the central question is increasingly how to convert its position as one of Africa’s established space players into a commercially viable industry.
Udeh said the country’s planned investments should not be viewed only as government spending, but as an opportunity to build a market capable of generating revenue while supporting security, communications, agriculture, transportation and other sectors.
‘We understand that we have a market for space technology. So it is not just investing in it as a social good, but also what will generate revenue, improve on livelihood, security and technology generally,’ he said.
The strategy places Nigeria’s planned six-satellite programme, rocket development and proposed $1 billion-plus investment opportunity within the wider African push to build indigenous space capabilities and ensure that the continent has a stronger voice in determining how the global space economy develops.