The African Aerospace Industry: A Closer Look
The fast-growing African space industry is expected to hit $10 billion by 2024 with a current value of more than $7 billion [1]. Not only the African Aerospace industry is growing in the space sector but also in the aviation/air transport contributing to more than $55.8 billion in the African economy [2]. According to Airbus’s White Paper report, the top most countries in the African Aerospace industry are South Africa with $1.8 billion, Morocco with $1.1 billion, and Tunisia with $430 million in industry sizes. In the global aerospace industry ranking, South Africa and Morocco rank in the top 40 [3].
Around 41 satellites belong to African countries
South Africa
South Africa is by far the most active and leading country in the African Aerospace industry with more than 120 companies both state-owned and private-owned local aerospace companies. Since the 1920s, South Africa has been designing and manufacturing aircraft parts, UAV’s, satellite systems, and even a full aircraft. Not only South African aerospace companies produce domestic aerospace products, but also they are single suppliers of components and parts for large aerospace companies like Boeing and Airbus [4]. The booming aerospace industry of South Africa has been nurtured through government-private partnerships and research universities involved in the aerospace arena. For instance, the National Aerospace Centre (NAC) at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg is a very good example of how higher education research shapes the overall nation’s economy and developing highly skilled Human capital is key in enhancing the aerospace industry. The launch of South African built satellites nSight1 and ZA-Aerosat shows the level of technological advancement through university research and private companies’ efforts. Today South Africa has launched eight satellites since 1999 [5]. Therefore, emerging African nations in the aerospace industry should incorporate government-private partnerships and building human capital in the aerospace sector.
Graphic made in 2020.
Morocco
Morocco has been in the aerospace industry since the 1950s with aircraft technology and maintenance [6]. Since the foundation of the MATIS Aerospace (Morocco Aero-Technical Interconnect System) in 2000, Morocco has attracted to more than 140 companies to join its Aerospace cluster. Morocco’s location and proximity to European countries and North America made it the most attractive country in Africa for aerospace suppliers and the fifth in the world [7]. With the current growth rate, the Moroccan aerospace industry is expected to double its industry size to $2.6 billion by 2021. In 2016, Morocco signed MOU with Boeing to establish the Boeing Sourcing Ecosystem, which will include more than 120 Boeing’s suppliers that will have a $1 billion export turn over for Morocco. Even though most of the aerospace companies are foreign-owned, Morocco aims to expand its human capital in the aerospace industry and attract domestic investment in the industry [8]. In 2011, Morocco inaugurated the Aeronautics Profession Institute (IMA), which is a hub to train the next generation professionals in the Moroccan Aerospace Industry. Morocco’s international trade and foreign investment policy is a very good starting point for other African countries to make adjustments to their respective policies and attract foreign investment in the aerospace sector. Since the launch of its first satellite in 2001, Morocco has 2 more satellites.
Tunisia
Tunisia is another key player in the African Aerospace industry with more than 80 aerospace companies. Most aerospace companies in Tunisia are focused on 3D printing, aircraft parts manufacturing, aircraft maintenance, smart production, and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operation). One of the unique features of the Tunisian aerospace industry is its involvement in the entire value chain of out-sourcing [9]. Due to Tunisia’s ideal proximity to Europe and the industry’s competitiveness around Europe and Africa, 70% of the aerospace production is exported to Europe. According to Oxford Business Group Analysis, 95% of the companies are registered in the country’s offshore regime that allows companies to retain the full project capital and freely repatriate dividends [10]. Even though more than 85% of the companies are foreign-owned, local aircraft manufacturing companies like Avionav has joined the booming industry. According to Tunisia’s Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA), Tunisia has 15 sectorial training centers, devoted institutions like the Centre of Excellence for Aerospace Professionals, and public and private engineering schools. It is expected that Tunisia will be launching its first satellite later this year.
Other African countries are also enacting space policies and implementing a national space strategy that will ultimately lead to overall economic development. Now is that time for African nations to attract more aerospace companies through effective foreign investment and trade policies. Additionally, African nations need to come up with educational programs and policies in the aerospace sector to build highly skilled engineers for their emerging aerospace industry. At that point, the domestic aerospace industry can flourish with a combination of a conductive entrepreneurial environment and the skilled workforce in the nations.
Zemichael Gebeyehu
Zemichael Gebeyehu
Zemichael was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He joined the Ethiopian Space Science Society at the age of ten, and has since given lectures on many of the ESSS’s General Assemblies, summer trainings, and public outreach events. Zemichael is a recipient of the Youth leadership Award and a UN Junior Ambassador for Sustainable Development, where he conducted research on the Sustainable Development Goals and space debris at Claremont Graduate University in California.
[1] Press Release, Space In Africa, 2019. https://africanews.space/african-space-industry-now-generating-over-usd-7-billion-annually-to-exceed-usd-10-billion-by-2024/
[2] Air transport contributes 6.2m jobs, $55.8bn to Africa GDP – ICAO, The Aviation & Allied Business Journal, 2019. https://aviationbusinessjournal.aero/2019/11/13/air-transport-contributes-6-2m-jobs-55-8bn-to-africa-gdp-icao/
[3] Air Bus’s White Paper, The Great Enabler: Aerospace in Africa, 2018. https://www.airbus.com/content/dam/corporate-topics/publications/brochures/TheGreatEnable_AerospaceinAfrica.pdf
[4] Ambasciata d’Italia Pretoria & National Aerospace Centre: Overview of the South African Aerospace Industry Landscape, 2017. http://ambpretoria.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Pretoria/resource/doc/2017/10/overview_sa_aerospace.pdf
[5] African Satellites, Space In Africa, 2020. https://africanews.space/african-satellites/
[6] Moroccan Aerospace Industries Associations (GIMAS). http://gimas.org/pdf/brochuregimas.pdf
[7] Morocco’s Aerospace Sector is Fastest-Growing Industry for Jobs, Morocco World News, 2019. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/11/286198/moroccos-aerospace-sector-growing-industry/
[8] Partnership Between Boeing, The World Leader In Aerospace, And The Kingdom Of Morocco For The Creation Of A Sourcing Ecosystem, Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade, and Digital Economy, 2016. http://www.mcinet.gov.ma/en/content/partnership-between-boeing-world-leader-aerospace-and-kingdom-morocco-creation-sourcing
[9] Aerospace’s Key Role in Tunisia’s Economy, African Aerospace Online News Service, 2017. https://www.africanaerospace.aero/aerospace-s-key-role-in-tunisian-economy.html
[10] Tunisian aeronautics production to cover more steps in the supply chain, Oxford Business Group, 2017. https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/analysis/consolidating-growth-production-capacity-aeronautics-expected-diversify-cover-more-sector-supply