GEN Space catalyzes the growing volume of companies accelerating their growth through cheap access to zero-gravity conditions. By providing a robust platform, GEN Space stimulates the creation and scaling of startups and scale-ups focused on entrepreneurial opportunities through space. It connects a global community of policymakers, experts and new space entrepreneurs with key stakeholders, including government agencies, corporate leaders, and new investors. GEN Space drives awareness of opportunities to accelerate entrepreneurship through lower earth orbit access among all industries and enhances the commercial viability of space-related ventures.
Enabling the New Space Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
2024 marked a transformative period for space entrepreneurship, characterized by groundbreaking milestones and a surge in private-sector leadership. Simultaneously, the shift toward commercial space stations accelerated. Companies such as Blue Origin, and Sierra Space collaborated on Orbital Reef, a privately funded space station intended to replace the aging International Space Station (ISS) by 2030. Axiom Space continued working on its commercial Space Station and successfully launched its international commercial astronauts to the ISS. These projects, backed by NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Destinations program, exemplify the growing reliance on private enterprises to sustain human presence in space. Other advancements included breakthroughs in propulsion systems, satellite miniaturization, and in-orbit manufacturing, with private firms and public agencies testing innovative theories for space exploration, Earth observation, and adjacent fields like telecommunications and climate monitoring.
These developments signal an era of unprecedented opportunity for entrepreneurs. GEN Space remains at the forefront, empowering innovators to capitalize on this momentum. Directed by a diverse advisory board of seasoned industry executives, GEN Space supports a network of over 4,000 companies worldwide, collectively employing tens of thousands of astropreneurs. These ventures focus on three core areas:
- Technologies and capabilities in space, such as satellite constellations and in-orbit services;
- Earth-based capabilities leveraging space resources or technologies, including precision agriculture and disaster response systems; and
- Earth-based solutions enabled by space, such as global broadband connectivity and geospatial analytics
These companies drive innovation across critical subsectors:
- Space systems services: infrastructure like space stations and orbital platforms;
- Upstream: launch services and satellite data collection;
- Downstream: data downlink, processing, and analytics;
- Beyond Earth: space exploration and resource extraction (e.g., lunar mining);
- Space-for-Earth: communications, security, and environmental monitoring; and
- Space-for-Space: In-space manufacturing, mining, and servicing platforms.
Through tailored mentorship, high-impact events, and specialized training programs, astropreneurs in the GEN Space network gain access to a roster of industry experts and advisors on every continent. Representing more than 90 countries, these astropreneurs have collectively secured over US $62 billion in investments across 1,600 funding rounds since GEN Space’s inception, with 2024 alone seeing a 15% increase in funding activity compared to the previous year.
Helping Establish a Global Space Enablers Network (GSEN)
At the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2024) in Milan, Italy, GEN Space presented a seminal paper titled “Building a Global Space Enablers Network: Initial Findings and Future Directions.” The paper detailed efforts to survey over 50 established space community builders — ranging from accelerators to trade associations — across 30 countries. The survey identified unmet needs (e.g., access to capital for early-stage ventures), persistent challenges (e.g., regulatory fragmentation), and untapped opportunities (e.g., cross-border collaboration). IAC 2024 drew a record-breaking 11,200 delegates from 120 countries, surpassing previous attendance figures by 20 per cent, and welcomed an additional 3,000 participants via livestream. This diversity underscored the event’s role as a global nexus for space stakeholders, amplifying GEN Space’s call for a coordinated network.
The proposed Global Space Enablers Network (GSEN) aims to unify these efforts by:
- Facilitating knowledge sharing through a centralized digital platform;
- Optimizing resource allocation via pooled funding and expertise;
- Reducing duplicative efforts by mapping existing initiatives; and
- Driving priority initiatives identified at biannual convenings, starting with a planned GSEN Summit in 2025.
Supporting Space Entrepreneurship Across Latin America
GEN Space expanded its footprint in Latin America through strategic engagements at GEC+ Puerto Rico, held in San Juan. GEN Space hosted three targeted sessions:
- Entrepreneur Session: discussion on business model validation and market entry;
- Investor Session: tips on how to fund and approach funding sources; and
- Space Agency Session: dialogues with spaceport agencies and the Puerto Rico Space Foundation on public-private partnerships.
Concurrently, GEN Space partnered with the Puerto Rico Space Foundation to host a Space Business Plan Hackathon at the same venue. Five early-stage companies participated, developing pitches over 48 hours for solutions ranging from satellite-based disaster monitoring to space tourism logistics. The event culminated in presentations to a judging panel of local angel investors and GEN Space board members. Outcomes included media exposure, with three companies featured on a local radio talk show and one appearing on a televised segment on Puerto Rico Hoy, boosting their profiles and attracting follow-on interest.
Supporting Space Entrepreneurship Across Africa
GEN Space deepened its commitment to Africa, focusing on downstream opportunities in Earth observation - a sector projected to grow by 12% annually through 2030 due to climate and agricultural data demand. In collaboration with the Africa Earth Observation Challenge (AEOC), GEN Space supported 10 finalists in 2024, selected from a competitive pool of 20 startups across nine countries, including Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Over a four-month investment readiness program, GEN Space mentors provided coaching on financial modeling, customer acquisition, and pitch refinement. Building on three years of involvement, GEN Space enhanced the South Africa-based accelerator by offering bespoke prizes for the top three winners: private mentorship along with access to its global investor network.
In Nigeria, GEN Space partnered with NigComSat, a government agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, to launch the country’s first space accelerator in March 2024. The six-month program supported 20 startups addressing challenges in agriculture (e.g., crop yield prediction), climate tech (e.g., flood mapping), healthcare (e.g., telemedicine via satellite), and education (e.g., remote learning platforms). GEN Space’s Nigeria-based Oluseye Soyode-Johnson co-managed the end-to-end process—from selecting finalists from 1,500 applicants to supporting the curriculum design, securing global mentors, and preparing startups for the investor demo day in Abuja. In September 2024, eight startups secured seed funding totaling $2.3 million, and a second cohort of 25 startups launched in May 2025, with GEN Space expanding its mentorship pool.
GEN Space also spearheaded NigComSat’s Grassroots Space Connectivity and Space Hackathon initiative, starting with a pilot in Adamawa State in December 2024. This effort aims to bridge the digital divide in rural Nigeria by deploying satellite-enabled internet hubs, with plans to scale to 10 states by 2026. Additionally, GEN Space is collaborating with World Space Week to design an astropreneurship program, targeting 500 students and young professionals with workshops on space business fundamentals, scheduled for rollout in Q3 2025.
Promoting Space Entrepreneurship Globally
GEN Space championed the space category at the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC), a global competition spanning 100+ countries. In 2024, three space companies made it to the top 100 companies, with GEN Space mentors guiding them as they refined their final pitches. Salutes Space, a company mentored by GEN Space, delivered a stand-out pitch performance to secure the Economies of the Future prize.
“GEN Space has been a game-changer in my entrepreneurial journey,” said founder and CEO Mohamed Sobhy Fouda. “From mentorship to the inspiration drawn from GEN leaders, GEN has been an invaluable force in my success. The global network, resources, and competitions like the Entrepreneurship World Cup have propelled my startup to new heights, and I’m honored to be part of this thriving community. Reaching the Top 14 in 2024 was just the beginning—we’re coming back even stronger for the championship!”
Providing Space Mentorship and Connections
GEN Space’s mission to create borderless space business opportunities drove extensive mentorship and networking efforts. The team connected numerous new space startups with investment advice and commercial partnerships across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A notable collaboration with Rhodium Scientific, a U.S.-based biotech firm, bolstered space research capabilities in Latin America and Africa.
GEN Space also advanced in the #Space18SDG coalition, advocating for “SDG 18 – SPACE FOR ALL” to augment the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In 2024, the coalition grew to 45 partner organizations, hosted 10 global webinars, and submitted a proposal to the UN General Assembly for consideration in 2026.
Providing Global Space Expertise
GEN Space members are frequently invited to present and participate as speakers on industry panels at prominent global space events, addressing critical topics such as the development of the space entrepreneurial ecosystem, the societal and economic impact of space activities, and best practices in space investment. These engagements have included high-profile gatherings such as Global Entrepreneurship Week, where over 900 astropreneurs received mentorship across 18 events worldwide; Paris Space Week; the International Astronautical Congress in Milan; the International Space
University; World Space Week; SpaceCom; the NASA Space Apps Challenge; Spaceport America’s Pathway series; the Open Geospatial Consortium General Assembly in Rome; ASCEND in Houston; and the Technology Forum Ambrosetti in Milan. During the Beyond Earth Symposium in Washington, DC., GEN Space moderated a compelling panel with an industry-leading space economist and a space entrepreneur innovating mining Helium-3 on the Moon.
GEN Space engaged directly with numerous pre-seed and seed-stage U.S. space founders across such states as Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, and Virginia. Projects ranged from space-based solar power arrays to tunable artificial gravity platforms for orbital R+D. Over six months, GEN Space advisors conducted numerous hours of workshops, helping founders validate markets (e.g., $10 billion orbital research sector), refine business models, and secure early funding from angel investors and government contracts. Through a new partnership with NATO DIANA, GEN Space also connected European space tech founders with U.S. markets, facilitating $3 million in cross-border investments in March 2025.
GEN Space taught in a 12-week online graduate lecture series for the European Institute of Innovation for Sustainability’s Masters of Space Entrepreneurship Program. The curriculum, delivered to 12 undergraduates and 15 graduate students, covered advanced topics like space law, venture financing, and in-orbit economics. Eighty percent of participants launched Space-related ventures within six months.
Looking Ahead: 2025 and Beyond
As the space economy expands, GEN Space remains committed to empowering astropreneurs, fostering innovation, and strengthening global space ecosystems. With a growing network, impactful initiatives, and strategic partnerships, GEN Space is helping to pave the way for the next generation of space entrepreneurs.