the africa geospatial eco- system at a glance a …
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THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL ECO-SYSTEM AT A GLANCE
A REPORT BY AFRICA GEOCONVO
February,2021
HOW IT STARTED
It all started from a twitter conversation among some key icons in the GeospatialIndustry on how capacity can be developed in the Africa Geospatial space,as youcould have imagined, the Geospatial Community is supportive so the conversationtended towards setting up a GoFundMe to crowdsource funds to support studentsin procuring high-end laptop devices and access geospatial courses.However,as adata-driven community,a survey was immediately shared to gather sample datawhich can then inform our decision making.
IT DOES NOT END IN THE SHEET
The responses from the survey birthed this report,which was carried out by theAfrica Geoconvo team,to shed more light into some of the challenges faced byAfricans in the Geospatial Industry. The responses received from 162 participants,although not representative of the whole ecosystem, gives a first insight into anissue that deserves efficient and continuous intervention. There are manychallenges faced by Africans in the Geospatial space,but what exactly are criticalpain points?What can be done? How can we help address these issues? These arethe questions this report would provide answers to.
WHAT WE DID?
WHO WE ARE
A podcast that invites you to experience the geospatial industry from the Africanperspective. We invite the voices of people that have always been there in theunexplored corners of history through interviews, to share insights about their careers,their greatest achievements, and their motivations. We also bring you conversations withgeospatial startups in Africa and career specialists, in an attempt to introduce you toideas and innovations in the geospatial industry and help you find your way through theseemingly-endless career options. We hope to keep this podcast both educational andprofessional and our aim is to help you become a better informed professional.
WE ARE AFRICA GEOCONVO!
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
THE REPORT
25%66% 9%
STUDENTS PROFESSIONALS ORGANIZATIONS
WHO ARE THE RESPONDENTS?
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
REPRESENTED COUNTRIES
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
Nigeria
Egypt
Ghana
South Africa
Kenya
Zambia
THE STUDENTS
77% 23 %
58%
34%8%
Masters
RecentGraduate
Undergraduates
Remote Sensing & GIS
Others
WHAT IS OUR COURSE OF STUDY? WHAT IS OUR CURRENT LEVEL?
Remote Sensing & GIS courses include: Geography, Surveying and Geoinformatics, Remote Sensing and GIS, Geomatic Engineering.
Others include: Urban and Regional Planning, Civil Engineering, Forestry, Agricultural Engineering.
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE AS GIS STUDENTS IN AFRICA?
6% 6%
10%
Lack of access to good internet and electricity6% of us face these challenges
Lack of access to high processing laptops to learn and carry out analysis
10% of us face these challenges
16% of us face these challenges
We cannot even afford to purchase GIS licenses or pay for high resolution imagery
Inaccessibility and affordability of data to perform local analysis.
30% of us face these challenges
Unavailability of resources, such as internships, mentoring, project-based training, research funding, strong communities, training facilities, conferences or forums
38% of us face these challenges
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
PROFESSIONALS
WHAT IS OUR YEAR OF EXPERIENCE? WHAT DEGREE DO WE HAVE?
42%
48%10 %
Mid professionals(4-9years)
(10 years)
Young professionals(1-3years)
70%27%
3%PGD
Bachelor
Masters
42%
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE AS GIS PROFESSIONALS IN AFRICA?
6% 6%
10%
Low awareness of GIS and Remote Sensing inlocal sectors
10% of us face these challenges
35 % of us face these challenges
Lack of resources to afford high-end laptops
Inaccessibility and affordability of data to perform local analysis
20% of us face these challenges
Lack of opportunities, including jobs and funding
35 % of us face these challenges
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
ORGANIZATIONS
HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN OPERATING?
(10 years)
Young professionals(1-3years)
Others
69% 8%
23%(4-6years)
(1-2 years) (10 years)
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE AS ORGANIZATIONS IN AFRICA?
6% 6%
10%
Lack of resources, including data,and high-end laptops
15% of us face these challenges
16 % of us face these challenges
Lack of government support
Lack of interaction with GIS specialistcompanies from different countries
15% of us face these challenges
Lack of funding23 % of us face these challenges
Lack of exposure and access to reach audience
31% of us face these challenges
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT SOLUTIONS CAN SOLVE ALL THESE CHALLENGES?
6% 6%
10%
“Providing scholarships, training programs for GIS students”
“Creating an active developer community where GIS Developers can have frequent meetups, mentorship programs
and network”
“Creation of GIS hubs and learning centers”
“The GIS community should come together and build SDI where accurate data will be uploaded for easy access”
“Crowd source funding and support from big corporations”
“More open geospatial communities and collaboration between different stakeholders(companies, orgs,
government, individuals)”
“Having a Geospatial Tech hub in major cities around Africa will go a long way as professionals can come together share ideas, insights and also generate accurate data”
“Full support from Government”
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
HOW OUR TEAM IS HELPING
Part of our mission as a team is to create access for Africans in the Geospatial ecosystem. We stronglybelieve this access in form of current and new resources will help to fill the skills gap, serving as a path toprofessional development, employment, as well as local and global opportunities.
Monthly Podcast Weekly Newsletter
Our monthly podcast invite thought leaders inthe African geospatial industry to share insightsabout their careers with the aim to keepprofessionals informed and help them navigatethrough the seemingly-endless career options.You can check out our website here
Our newsletter provide regular updates on onlinetraining,conferences, workshops, job opportunities,internships, mentorships, both locally and globally.
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT IS OUR LONG TERM GOAL?
In an effort to ensure that Africans achieve their full potential, we want to concentrate on providingaccess to learn both hard and soft skills to give a real competitive advantage in the global market. Wewant to provide opportunities to learn:
GIS and Remote Sensing
Programming
Drone Mapping
Data Science and Machine Learning
Hard skills
Communication
Leadership
Creativity
Problem Solving
Soft skills
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
WHAT IS OUR LONG TERM GOAL?
We also plan to focus on providing some other resources to combat the challenges mentioned earlier, this include:
Provision of high-end laptops
Collaboration with companies for job and internship opportunities
Provision of training materials
Others Others
Creating a strong GIS community
Mapping Hackathons
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Donating to our course.
Reaching out with job opportunities.
Supporting with training resources & software licenses.
Connecting us to potential supporters in your network.
Collaborating with us on this course.
A MINI PROJECT ON BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE AFRICA GEOSPATIAL SPACE BY: AFRICA GEOCONVO
THANK YOU!!!!
Email: [email protected]
Podcast: https://linktr.ee/africageoconvo
Website:https://africageoconvo.com