Program
Solcon Infinity 2026 moves through the satellite and space value chain over the course of one focused day, beginning with national policy and regulation before moving through compute, manufacturing, academia, capital and investment.
Guests are welcomed to Asara with tea and coffee as the student poster exhibition opens in the gallery. Delegates are encouraged to arrive early, meet the exhibiting students, and settle in before the formal proceedings begin.
The Master of Ceremonies opens the day, welcomes the satellite community to Stellenbosch, and sets out the arc of the program.
Jessie Ndaba
Master of Ceremonies
Exploring South Africa's space heritage and its position in the emerging global space economy, from local satellite manufacturing and global supply chains to new constellations, 6G connectivity and investment opportunities in the Cape.
Dr Andile Ngcaba
Chairman, Solcon Capital
A keynote address exploring South Africa's evolving role in the global space economy, the opportunities for growth and innovation, and the potential of space technologies to advance industrial development, connectivity, scientific research and investment.
Malese Ndhlovu
Head of Space Innovations, Technology Innovation Agency
Policy, Regulation & Defence
Exploring the policies, regulations and security priorities shaping South Africa's space activities, from spectrum and industrial policy to sovereign satellite capability, space situational awareness and strategic infrastructure.
Kamal Ramsingh
Founder & Group Lead, GeoInt · Moderator
Dr Carla Mitchell
Founder & Mission Director, Africa2Moon
Biko Managa
Head of Aerospace Systems, CSIR
Dr Sias Mostert
Founder & CEO, Space Commercial Services Holdings
Tea and coffee in the gallery. Delegates walk the student poster exhibition; exhibitors stand by their work for the first adjudicated viewing round.
A short fireside setting up the panel that follows: NVIDIA's view of AI compute demand for space, satellite and radio-astronomy workloads, and where GPU supply chains and partnerships are heading in Africa.
Space, Satellites, AI & GPUs
Exploring the convergence of space and AI, from high-performance computing and GPU infrastructure to onboard AI, real-time Earth observation and the opportunity for South Africa to become a global space-and-compute hub.
Johann du Toit
Co-Founder & CEO, Simera Group & Simera Sense · Moderator
James Barrington-Brown
Co-founder, NewCraft Aerospace
Avin Mansookram
Director, MFT Executive Advisory Services
Lee Annamalai
Founder, TerraNexus
Lancelot Nyachoto
Founder & CEO, Kombuta
A seated Winelands lunch on the Asara terrace, followed by the second poster viewing round. Tables are mixed deliberately — regulators seated with students, operators with component manufacturers — so that the community talks across its own boundaries.
Satellite Manufacturing, Subsystems and Major Components
Exploring how South Africa's satellite manufacturers can scale from specialist components to complete satellite platforms, expanding local production, testing and cleanroom capacity while unlocking the investment and export opportunities needed to compete in global space supply chains.
Jessie Ndaba
Moderator
Ana-Mia Louw
Founder & Chief Relationship Officer, Simera Sense
Dr Robert van Zyl
Managing Director, AAC Space Africa
Mike-Alec Kearney
Co-Founder & CEO, CubeSpace Satellite Systems
Imraan Saloojee
Executive Director & Head of Space Practice, RIIS
Dr Phila Sibandze
Co-Founder & CEO, Innocom Global Geospatial
Final tea break of the day while the adjudication panel completes its assessment of the student posters.
Universities & the Talent Pipeline
The universities that built South Africa's satellites debate the talent pipeline: from SUNSAT-1 and the CubeSat programmes of F'SATI, to sounding rockets at UKZN, aeronautical engineering at Wits, artificial intelligence at UJ, space studies at UCT, and applied remote sensing and GIS at the University of Fort Hare. The panel asks how academia, industry and the funding agencies keep the graduates — and the intellectual property — in South Africa.
Royi Nyameko
Chief Engineer, African Space Innovation Centre, CPUT · Moderator
Prof Michael Brooks
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering · Deputy Director ASRI, UKZN
Kgabo Mathapo
Co-founder, CEO & CTO, Motseni-Hi-TechSpace
Col. Alan J. Nelson (Ret)
Military Science Advisor · PhD, M. RAeS, F. SAIEE
Prof. Willem Jordaan
Professor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University
Capital, SEZ & Structuring
Moderated by Pramod Venkatesh, CEO of Solcon Capital.
Exploring how South Africa can finance the growth of its space sector, bringing together development finance, institutional capital, banks, venture capital and government incentives to support space businesses, attract investment and build a competitive industry. The discussion will also examine the case for a dedicated Satellite & Space Special Economic Zone in the Western Cape.
Pramod Venkatesh
CEO, Solcon Capital · Moderator
Keet van Zyl
Founding Partner, Knife Capital
Vinod Shankar
Founder & Managing Partner, Java Capital
Bryan Dean
CEO & Co-founder, Dragonfly Aerospace
Ilana Van Schalkwyk
Telecoms, Media, Technology & Digital Infrastructure Sector Lead, Nedbank
The poster prizes are presented, and the Chairman draws together the threads of the day — policy, orbit, defence, industry and academy — into the agenda the community carries forward.
The Master of Ceremonies closes the formal program and invites delegates to the terrace.
Jessie Ndaba
Master of Ceremonies
The symposium closes with the community together, a glass of Stellenbosch wine in hand, and the evening sky over the Helderberg turning to the very domain the day has been about.
27 October 2026
Asara Wine Estate & Hotel | Stellenbosch
