July 29, 2025— Esri, Space42, and Microsoft have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with to support “a five-year endeavor to produce the most comprehensive basemap of Africa to date.” Called the Map Africa Initiative, the effort aims to “deliver high-resolution, scalable geospatial data across all 54 African countries with the goal to benefit more than 1.4 billion people.” The initiative was formalized in July at the 2025 Esri User Conference in San Diego, California.
According to a statement from Esri, “The collaboration aims to increase institutional capacity for African nations by providing locally managed geospatial data and enabling smarter decision-making for governments, businesses, and communities.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Esri President Jack Dangermond said, “Transforming satellite imagery into detailed, accurate base maps at continental scale requires advanced geospatial technology and professional production workflows. These same capabilities have supported similar national and regional mapping efforts around the world. With Map Africa, we are helping to establish a foundational resource that will drive infrastructure planning, economic growth, and sustainable development across the continent.”
For the effort, UAE-based Space42 “will lead fundraising efforts and project management, in addition to providing satellite data,” while Esri “will orchestrate basemap production workflows with its GeoAI and remote sensing capabilities, while also supporting regional hubs to train local teams and build long-term capacity.” In its role, “Microsoft will provide the secure cloud infrastructure and AI framework through Azure to support data processing, sharing, and integration at scale.”
Source: Esri
