Africa at IAC 2026: agency deals, one national pavilion and 13 young grantees

African space agencies were active at the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Türkiye. Leaders of Zimbabwe's ZINGSA, the Rwanda Space Agency, the Kenya Space Agency and SANSA joined the 3rd IAF Global Space Leaders Summit, which held roundtables on the lunar economy, orbital resilience and space-based solutions to disasters.

SANSA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish Space Agency on space science and exploration. It also held talks with the Kenya Space Agency on a possible MoU, and with Brazil's space agency. SANSA's CEO spoke on a regional space governance panel alongside APSCO, Brazilian and ESA representatives.

South Africa ran the only African national pavilion, hosting 13 companies, and RIIS presented the African Earth Observation Challenge. Thirteen of 40 IAF Emerging Space Leaders grantees were African, from six countries.

Why it matters: Earth observation for climate resilience, disaster response and food security dominated African engagement. Follow-through on the agreements, and wider company participation at future congresses, will decide whether the continent's geospatial and space industry gains access to buyers and partners.