If the Trump administration is serious about executing its “America First in Africa” policy and transforming American engagement on the continent, it needs to focus on sectors where it still holds a decisive advantage. Africa’s emerging space industry may be the most promising.
Historically, Washington has approached Africa as a problem to be solved, consistently positioning itself as the continent’s largest source of humanitarian aid. In 2023 alone, the United States contributed $14.3 billion — more than triple the amount from the next largest donors, France and Germany. This support has saved millions of lives, expanded access to education and strengthened public health systems. At the same time, however, it has left Washington with a very narrow form of influence within the continent. Unlike the strong geopolitical partnerships that arise from foreign direct investment (FDI), which often create path dependency and long-term interdependence, the effect of foreign aid is far less visible and not as closely associated with strong bilateral ties. The Trump administration’s recent reductions in foreign assistance programs have only reinforced this reality, demonstrating how quickly influence can erode when it is built primarily on aid.
Recognizing the inherent weakness of Washington’s “aid-forward” approach to Africa, China has, over the last two and a half decades, established inroads into the continent by pursuing an aggressive economic-driven strategy that focuses on trade and investment. Kickstarted by the 2001 “Going Out” policy and later catalyzed by the Belt & Road Initiative, which were both designed to incentivize the expansion of domestic businesses into new markets, Chinese FDI into Africa has risen dramatically in recent years. Unsurprisingly, this sustained Chinese attention throughout the continent has resulted in shifting alliances, with many African countries willing to adopt a more Chinese-oriented worldview.
If Washington is committed to realizing “America First in Africa,” it should not attempt to match China’s current monopoly over African infrastructure projects. Instead, it needs to pursue a comparative-advantage strategy that prioritizes engagement with sectors where the U.S. remains the undisputed global leader.
Here, space looms large. Since the start of the Space Race in the late 1950s, the U.S. has led humanity’s push to the stars, landing the first humans on the moon, developing the GPS architecture that underpins global navigation and pioneering the first reusable crewed spacecraft through the Space Shuttle program. As it enters the second space race, one defined less by symbolic “firsts” and more by the establishment of economically durable infrastructure and permanent lunar access, this legacy continues to provide Washington with a clear advantage — albeit one that is rapidly shrinking.
Within the last several years, China has made massive strides in matching American space capabilities, successfully launching the Tiangong Space Station (a solely Chinese developed and operated space station), advancing GPS competitor BeiDou and returning the first sample of lunar regolith from the far side of the moon. Backed by the full support of the Chinese government, China’s space industry is booming and threatens to outpace the U.S. within just a handful of years. It is therefore crucial that Washington moves quickly to forge space-based partnerships in Africa while it is still the continent’s most attractive partner for space development.
It has fertile ground to do so. In recent years, African states have made substantial progress in establishing the institutional foundations necessary to support space development. More than 20 African countries now maintain space agencies or research centers coordinating space activity that are backed by national laws. Furthermore, Africa’s space ambitions are increasingly supported by institutions that provide the regulatory and legislative framework needed to formalize the space industry. These developments, paired with the April 2025 establishment of the African Space Agency, have positioned the continent on the threshold of significant space-based technological expansion. Now, more than ever before, Africa’s space industry — an emerging market with tremendous growth potential — is ripe for investment and presents a rare opening for Washington to forge strong commercial partnerships across the continent.
To capitalize on this moment, Washington should direct funding towards chokepoints in the African space industry that are characterized by high barriers of replacement and therefore generate early path dependence. Broadly, these opportunities for investment fall into two categories.
The first is turn-key satellite service integration. By their nature, satellite services are a “first at the table” affair. Once a country adopts one system, integrating others becomes redundant. With Africa currently only 40% wired, American telecommunications satellite constellations, most notably Starlink, present a significant opportunity for Washington to establish an economic presence in the continent. For its part, the U.S. government could prove instrumental in extending this technology across African markets, acting as an intermediary that facilitates regulatory approval and spectrum coordination, subsidizes terminal costs, and potentially even assists in brokering agreements between Starlink (or a similar turn-key satellite service) and major African telecommunications providers.
Another potential opportunity lies in capital intensive infrastructure projects. Admittedly, this form of engagement is best suited for more advanced space economies, such as Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria, which already possess both the workforces and regulatory environments necessary to support sophisticated space activities. Satellite development facilities, similar to Egypt’s AIT Center funded by China, represent a particularly attractive option. Not only is there clear evidence that this model works, but because satellites serve as the foundation of most African space sectors, sustained involvement provides collaborators with unprecedented access to, and significant influence over, the future of these space industries.
While more ambitious, launch infrastructure — including the physical launch site and its associated launch vehicle ecosystem — presents a similar dynamic where high upfront costs make replacement with alternative systems economically impractical. Although unrealistic now, this may become increasingly attractive as Africa’s space sector matures.
By anchoring itself in the continent’s emerging space economy, Washington has a rare opportunity to strengthen its partnerships in Africa and compete more effectively with China in the process. Now, it’s up to policymakers to seize this opening.
About the Author:
Philip Dackiw is a researcher at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington, DC.