2026 Africa Earth observation = data-driven decisions. Free EU Sentinel data, Planet, Maxar commercial. Agriculture, mining, climate, urban planning. 1B$+ Africa market.
TL;DR
- Africa Earth observation: decision transformation.
- Sentinel-2 (free EU), Planet, Maxar.
- Use cases: agri, mining, climate.
- 1B$+ Africa market.
Data sources
Free :
- Sentinel-1, 2, 3 (EU Copernicus)
- Landsat (NASA/USGS)
- MODIS Terra/Aqua
- ESA Africa programs
Commercial :
- Planet Labs (high freq, daily)
- Maxar (high resolution 30 cm)
- Airbus (Pléiades, SPOT)
- BlackSky
- Capella Space (SAR radar)
Africa-native :
- Spire Global Africa partnerships
- Local Earth obs satellites
Africa use cases
Agriculture :
- Crop health (NDVI)
- Yield prediction
- Drought monitoring
- Pest detection
- Aerobotics, Apollo Ag use
Mining :
- Site monitoring
- Tailings dams
- ESG compliance
- Anglo American, Glencore use
Climate :
- Forest deforestation (Cocoa CSDDD)
- Carbon credits MRV (cf R10/2)
- Coastline erosion
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Urban planning :
- Slum mapping
- Infrastructure planning
- Lagos, Kinshasa, Cairo growth
Disaster response :
- Floods (annual West Africa)
- Droughts (Sahel)
- Locust swarms
Defense / security :
- Border monitoring
- Maritime piracy
Water resources :
- Lake monitoring
- Groundwater proxies
- Dam levels
SaaS players
- Aerobotics (SA agriculture)
- Descartes Labs (multi-vertical)
- Orbital Insight
- TerraScope (Africa focus)
- ICEYE (SAR)
FAQ
Q: Sentinel data cost?
A: 100% free + open. Planet commercial $1-5/km² per resolution.
Conclusion
2026 Africa Earth observation: Sentinel, Planet, Maxar. Agri, mining, climate, urban use cases. 1B$+ market. Builders: Africa-specific vertical SaaS analytics = niche.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
