The SatFinAfrica Pilot Project was co-funded by ESA (ARTES 3-4 Satcom Applications) Its main objective was to demonstrate the suitability of Sat3Play platform, originally designed for serving the consumer market, for reliable and secured financial institutions applications in emerging countries. It included demonstrations and a Pilot Project in Sub-Saharan Africa. Financial institutions represent a fast growing market, their remote sites in Sub-Saharan Africa are often too small to justify the investment in a classic corporate VSAT. There was a need to develop a corporate version of Astra2Connect service, tailored to the need of financial institutions, and of a pilot project to demonstrate the suitability of these newly developed corporate services.

1. ARTES- APPS Workshop
Brussels – 19 June 2014

2. 2
Introduction and Consortium
•2009: Market study “Use of satellite triple play services in emerging
countries” (ARTES 1)
•2010: Pre-operations of Astra2Connect in Africa
•2011: SatFinAfrica Pilot Project co-funded by ESA (ARTES 3-4
Satcom Applications)
•2012: Incorporation of SatADSL as the operating spin-off of
Sea&Space
Sea&Space Exploration: Consultancy in SatCom
SES: Satellite Operator, through its subsidiary SBBS
Newtec: SatCom systems manufacturer

3. User Needs and Project Motivation
3
1. Demonstrate the suitability of Sat3Play platform, originally
designed for serving the consumer market, for reliable and
secured financial institutions applications in emerging countries
2. Demonstrations and a Pilot Project in West Africa
• Financial institutions represent a fast growing market
• Their remote sites in West Africa are often too small to justify the
investment in a classic corporate VSAT
• Need to develop a corporate version of Astra2Connect service, tailored to
the need of financial institutions
• Pilot project to demonstrate the suitability of the new corporate service

4. Service Provision
Corporate Customers
ProductsBandwidth
Connectivity &
VA Services
African Partner (ISP or Telco)
SoHo/SME
Technology
Remote
Branches
ATMs Others
…

5. Market Perspective
•Thousands of sites of national Money Transfer Companies in Sub-
Saharan Africa with presence spread all over the territory through
small agencies
•Off-sites ATMs expected to spread all over the continent with the
development of banking activities (more than 2000 ATMs only in
Nigeria)
•Bank agencies expanding to smaller towns and rural villages
•Possibility to offer professional services to a number of other sectors,
based on the features developed for the financial sector

6. Socio-Economic Benefits
•“Access to financial services help reduce poverty and inequality and
stimulate job creation for poor South Africans”. World Bank 2013
•“Cash transfers can be an important development mechanism to
improve household resilience in terms of maintaining agricultural
production in the face of an overall downward economic trend”. FAO
2013.
•To date around 200 financial sites equipped with the solution
representing around 1 million transactions per month.
•And it is continuously expanding !

7. Applications – Money Transfer
Money Transfer Site in Cameroon
Money Transfer Site in Cameroon

8. Applications – Automatic Telling Machines
ATM Site in Ghana
ATM Site in Ghana

9. Applications – Virtual Private Networks
VPN Site in Burkina Faso

10. 10
• Total Number of Financial Customers around 200 each one
equipped with a satellite terminal
• Total number of end-users sites: around 1000
• 35 Distributors spread over Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea,
Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, DRC, Congo
Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe,
Zambia, South Africa, Angola, Mozambique.
Achievements and Lessons Learned
Confidential

11. ESA’s Contribution
• ESA Project was key to:
• tailoring the service
• reducing the risk
• launching the operating spin-off company SatADSL
•ESA’s view from outside was challenging but constructive
•Even though the administrative aspects of follow-up
(reporting, documentation, …) might seem scary, it forced
us to frame our work, strategy and approach.

12. Thank You !
For additional information, please contact us at info@satadsl.net