China takes Africa into space

It is estimated that the satellite program's influence will be far-reaching by revolutionizing Africa's access to telecommunications, broadcasting and broadband services.

Employment will be a major beneficiary as the program could create over 150,000 jobs in Nigeria, allow Internet access in remote villages, and slash phone charges broadband costs by US$660 and US$95 million respectively.

The digital economy in Nigeria and across Africa will pick up as the satellites play pivotal roles in e-commerce and in improving state efficiency.

Hammed Rufai, managing director of the NIGCOMSAT-1 project, also praised the satellite for hopefully helping Nigeria migrate from its over-reliance on oil and progressively moved towards a knowledge-based economy.