The Satellite Navigation in Africa Support Programme IV-SatNav Africa Joint Programme Office (JPO)

Introduction

The Satellite Navigation in Africa Support Programme IV-SatNav Africa Joint Programme Office (JPO) is a Pan-African specialised ‘entity’, championing the development of Satellite Navigation in Africa.

It was created as a component of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) on regional integration and trade, aiming primarily at supporting the implementation of seamless and sustainable satellite navigation services across Africa, with a primary focus on the aviation sector. By promoting the adoption of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), the programme seeks to enhance economic and social development in line with the African Union Space Policy and strategy and Agenda 2063.

The Programme is also directly contributing to the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), namely under the Aviation Infrastructure.

Today, the Programme has evolved with a full integration under the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme.

Objectives

The current landscape in Africa reveals a fragmented approach to satellite navigation systems and services, limiting the continent's ability to fully harness GNSS technologies across various sectors. SatNav Africa JPO addresses this challenge through the following objectives:

• General objective: enhance the African institutional and innovation space cooperation framework, with regard to satellite navigation.
• Specific objective: support the development and use of satellite navigation services in Africa.

To achieve this specific objective, two main components are considered:

• Component 1: support the development and provision of SBAS services in Africa
• Component 2: support the adoption and use of GNSS services in Africa, and the development of applications and corresponding markets in Africa.

Project activities

Key achievements include:

• Policy alignment:
  • Support to Africa-EU cooperation frameworks on SBAS.
  • Support to national, regional & international planning mechanisms on GNSS.
  • Advocacy for GNSS in Africa and global planning mechanisms.
• Technical development:
  • Study on the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Technology and Infrastructure gap survey on assignment by the African Union Commission (AUC) Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (ESTI) Department.
  • Support to the AUC/African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) on the Continental Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and strategy for the implementation of Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in Africa.
  • Support to development of ANGA SBAS Programme
  • Support to the East African Community (EAC) Regional Economic Community (REC) on SBAS initiative  implementation studies.
  • Support to SAATM (hence African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)), under the Prioritized Action Plan, SAATM Joint Prioritized Action Plan, Pillar 4 Infrastructure gap analysis.
• Institutional framework development: support to the development of concepts on legal and institutional aspects of GNSS in Africa.
• Capacity building:
  • Support to the curriculum development and delivery of training modules for the UNOOSA CRASTE-LF Masters Programme on Space Science and Technology (Majoring in GNSS).
  • Organisation of Outreach events during the SBAS service demonstrations in 4 States with the ANGA SBAS Platform.
• Economic analysis:
  • Market studies on GNSS in Africa covering all 5 African regions.
  • Business case studies for GNSS/SBAS use for airlines, etc.
• Market development
  • GNSS user communities.
  • Cooperation with SMEs, and innovation hubs.
  • Support for hackathons, innovation challenges, etc.

Expected results

• Support for the development and delivery of SBAS services:
  • Contribution to the development of the Augmented Navigation for Africa (ANGA) SBAS programme.
  • Integration of SBAS services into regional policies and strategies.
• Support for the adoption and use of GNSS services, and the development of corresponding markets:
  • Promotion of services and market development across Africa.
  • Integration of GNSS services into continental sectoral policies and strategies.

Implementing partners

• African Union Commission
• Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA)