Africa's space economy has long been dominated by state‑backed programmes focused on launching and operating large, geostationary (GEO) satellites for broadcasting, communications and defence. In recent years, however, the private sector has taken on a more prominent role with the launch of low-earth-orbit (LEO) constellations that deliver high‑speed internet.
Orbiting between 160 km and 2,000 km above earth, LEO satellites are close enough to the earth's surface to deliver faster, more reliable internet connectivity than traditional GEO systems which orbit 35,786 km away from earth.
Starlink, the satellite internet division of Elon Musk's SpaceX, is the global leader in this domain. It had launched a total of 10,790 satellites into orbit by the end of 2025 - a significant increase from 7,610 in 2024, 5,658 in 2023 and 3,664 in 2022. Starlink, which launched its first batch of LEO satellites in 2019, currently accounts for roughly 61% of SpaceX's total revenue and remains its only profitable segment. It closed 2025 with 10.3m subscribers across 164 markets worldwide and posted annual revenues of $11.39bn, according to SpaceX's filings with the US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of its initial public offering in June.
Starlink debuted in Africa in 2023 with a launch in Nigeria and has since expanded to 27 countries reaching an estimated 500,000 users. While the continent currently accounts for only a fraction of Starlink's total revenue and global user base, its growth potential is significant.
Originally published by African Business.