Morocco and France agree to build a satellite communications system to serve Africa

Morocco's Bansat and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between the Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) groups, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to build a Moroccan satellite communications system.


According to Telexpress, the telecommunications system aims to provide high-speed connectivity to 26 African countries, including 23 French-speaking ones, benefiting a population of more than 550 million people spread over an area of 12 million square kilometres.


The memorandum of understanding was signed on 29 October during Emmanuel Macron's official visit to Morocco, in the presence of Nadia Fattah Al-Alawi, Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, and Antoine Arman, French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry.

Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for building a flexible, high-performance satellite which, once installed, will provide a high-speed Internet service to support the continent's digital transition. This will enable essential connectivity for the development of services related to governments, businesses and citizens to bridge the digital divide in rural and isolated areas.

Banvasat's chairman of the board and CEO, Ahmed Toumi, explained that this project ‘constitutes the next big step in the process of digital transformation and the development of the digital economy in Morocco and Africa’.


‘It will change the lives of millions of Africans who want access to the internet and the basic services they need. We are pleased to be able to rely on the expertise and capabilities of a partner like Thales Alenia Space and look forward to working with this company on a project that will greatly benefit Africa,’ he added.

For his part, Hervé Dery, president and CEO of Thales Alenia Space, said that this initiative is ‘a great honour’ for the company, as ‘it will undoubtedly be one of the key assets to bridge the digital divide in rural areas, promote economic growth and boost pan-African digital sovereignty’. ‘We are honoured to initiate this long-term cooperation with the leading private African operator and to accompany it in the development of its space assets and services in the African region,’ he said.

This agreement is part of the roadmap between the two countries regarding digitalisation initiatives in the African region, such as ‘Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A)’ or ‘Digital Morocco 2030’.


Pansat's mission is to develop Morocco's first fixed communications satellite to provide communications to 26 African countries, a project that will contribute to Africa's digital transformation in line with global and regional objectives.


Combining more than forty years of experience and a unique diversity of knowledge, talent and culture, Thales Alenia Space engineers design and deliver innovative solutions for communications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructure.

In addition, Thales Alenia Space designs, builds and delivers satellite systems to geolocate and connect people around the world, monitor the planet and the optimal use of resources.