The battle for Africa’s satellite internet market is heating up as Abu Dhabi-based Space42 moves to raise fresh funds for its expansion across the continent, positioning itself to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink service, which has already gained traction in Nigeria and 17 other African countries.
Backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, Space42 is holding early-stage talks with partners such as the African Union Development Agency, Microsoft, data center firm Esri, and financial investors to boost its African footprint, according to CEO Hasan Al Hosani.
Although no funding target has been set, the company has already begun building physical presence and connecting schools and clinics in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Strategic partnerships
Starlink currently enjoys a first-mover advantage with more than 8,000 low-earth orbit satellites covering much of the globe, compared to Space42’s eight active satellites.
However, the Emirati company has plans to launch three more this year, while also working with Microsoft and Esri on a mapping initiative to improve digital infrastructure across Africa.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to happen locally within each country, within each nation,” Al Hosani said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
“So part of our process is actually to identify entities and partners, whether it’s on the private sector or the government sector and in parallel,” he added.
- Hosani noted that Africa’s an attractive market for satellite companies, with a young, fast-growing population that’s increasingly demanding internet access and a terrestrial market that leaves vast swathes of the continent uncovered.
- He also acknowledged that the patchwork of regulatory requirements across Africa’s 54 countries could be challenging.
What you should know
Nigeria, where Starlink has been expanding since it received regulatory approval in 2022, is likely to be a key battleground for Space42.
With millions of citizens in underserved rural areas clamoring for internet access, satellite companies are positioning themselves as an alternative to traditional telcos that still struggle with last-mile connectivity.
As of Q3 2024, Starlink had become Nigeria’s second-largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) by subscriber number, a position it has maintained until now.
- Data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that Starlink had 59,509 subscribers in Q1 2025, and that was even after a decline from its peak of 65,564 in Q3 2024.
- Out of over 200 ISPs in the country, the company comes behind Spectranet, an old-time ISP that pioneered 4G in Nigeria.
- Starlink’s meteoric rise in Nigeria was despite its higher cost compared with other service providers, as Nigerians go for quality and ubiquity.
