UN Rwanda, Rwanda Space Agency to partner up on space activities

The Rwanda Space Agency (RSA) and United Nations in Rwanda are set to collaborate to provide effective space services that will immensely contribute to Rwanda’s social-economic development. 

This comes after comprehensive conversations between the UN Rwanda's Resident Coordinator, Ozonnia Ojielo and RSA Chief Executive Officer, Col. Francis Ngabo. The meeting was attended by Maxwell Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative, and Veronica Rammala, Head of Vulnerability Analysis at WFP.

Their discussions focused on building strategic partnerships to further leverage Earth-observation data for the country's socio-economic development goals and welcomed United Nations in Rwanda for partnership.

"When people heard of our agency, many just thought of artificial satellites and other objects that are launched into space by rockets and placed into orbit around the Earth. We actually do a lot with Earth Observation data. With a few applications, we have developed it is possible to develop Rwanda's space sector and effectively use geospatial data towards Rwanda's socio-economic development," said Col Francis Ngabo, CEO of Rwanda Space Agency.

RSA currently works with various government institutions to bring innovative digital solutions to various areas of Rwanda's development. In agriculture, the agency provides data on farmland segmentation, crop type classification, drought, crop health, yield, and forestation.

Ozonnia Ojielo expressed his appreciation for the ongoing collaboration between Rwanda Space Agency and the United Nations Satellite Centre.

“Rwanda Space Agency’s data can be leveraged to create an emergency response plan in which every partner can contribute, resulting in a sustainable contingency plan.” Ozonnia added.

The Agency is also monitoring six greenhouse gas emissions to alert relevant government institutions on the air quality in the country. With the Ministry of Infrastructure, RSA plays an important role in urban planning and safe settlements with satellite images. "Data and Analytics should be considered in the next Rwanda's Strategy for Transformation.

The UNDP’s Resident Representative further observed that to yield proper results, this will require advanced software and experts.

This happens as the world continues to grapple with the deadly effects of climate-related shocks - meaning that Earth-Observation technologies can generate crucial data to trigger our predictive capacities especially by providing early warnings, developing weather stations, and information sharing.

Established in August 2020, RSA has been actively involved in utilizing Earth-observation data for economic and social development, enhancing research development in space, and providing essential data for disaster and emergency management, using its three projects GeoHub, Satellite Communication, and Teleport.

The Rwanda Space Agency is mandated to regulate and coordinate all space activities in the country while also creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurial and industrial development in order to enable the creation of products that are globally competitive for local consumption and export markets.