Temidayo Isaiah Oniosun | |
|---|---|
| Born | Temidayo Isaiah Oniosun 6 August 1994 Okaka, Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | Federal University of Technology, Akure University of Strathclyde University of Delaware |
| Occupation(s) | Businessperson Space scientist |
Temidayo Isaiah Oniosun is a Nigerian space scientist and businessperson. [1] [2] He is the founder of Space in Africa [3] and the former regional coordinator for Space Generation Advisory Council for Africa. [4] [5]
In 2021, Oniosun was listed as one of Forbes Africa's 30 under 30 for his contributions to the space and satellite industry. [6]
Oniosun was born in Okaka and grew up in Oyo, Nigeria where he had his primary and secondary education. [4] He graduated with a bachelor of technology degree in meteorology from the Federal University of Technology, Akure in 2016, [7] has a master's degree in satellite applications from the University of Strathclyde Glasgow, [8] and a PhD from the University of Delaware, USA with a dissertation on the “Political Economy of Space Development in Africa [9]
In May 2015, as a student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, he led the University space club to launch a balloon to space in a contest. [10]
In 2016, he was the recipient of the International Astronautical Federation Emerging Space Leadership Award for his work in the space industry. [11] [12]
He was elected the regional coordinator for Africa for the Space Generation Advisory Council in February 2017 and re-elected for a second term in 2019. [13]
Oniosun is a YouthMappers fellow where he led students to create and utilize open data and open source software for geographic information directly related to development objectives in unmapped places of the world where US Agency for International Development (USAID) works to end poverty. In 2017, he led a team to solve the problem of urban waste in Akure, Nigeria.
In 2018, he received the 35 under 35 space industry recognition award by the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC). [14] In the same year, Oniosun founded Space in Africa as a platform that covers business, technology, discoveries, events and political information on the African space and satellite industry. [11] In April 2018, he was featured on BellaNaija's Under 25 series of young Nigerians under 25 who are influencing and disrupting the world of Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Governance and Corporate World. [15]
Oniosun speaks at conferences across the world and regularly appears on various media calling for more government investment in space programs in Africa [2] and leading conversations around the African Space and satellite Industry. He also comments regularly on the African space program on various media. [1]
In 2018, he was a recipient of the International Astronautical Federation Emerging Space Leaders Grant Award [16] and was listed in Newspace People 2018/2019 Global Ranking of the top 200 movers and shakers in Newspace . [17]
In June 2019, he led Space in Africa in raising seed investment from AC Ventures from Florida. [18]
In June 2020, he was selected as part of the inaugural Karman Fellowship programme. [19] The fellows are considered to be change-makers and global leaders who are shaping the future of space.
In July 2020, while speaking on Sunday Extra on Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he explained how African countries are looking to space to solve problems on the ground. [20]
He is an advisor to Proudly Human, an initiative of which is the Off-World Project, a series of habitation experiments in Earth's most extreme environments. [21] Oniosun has led several strategy and policy consulting projects for both government and commercial stakeholders. In 2021 he led the African Union Commission baseline studies on the four-space segments and the socio-economic benefits for the establishment and operationalization of the African Space Agency. [22] [23]
Oniosun has received widespread recognition for his contributions to Africa’s space sector and policy leadership. He was named to Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list in 2021 for his work in the satellite industry, [24] and has been featured in major international media outlets including CNN, [25] BBC [26] and CNBC [27] where he is frequently cited for commentary on space technology, policy, and Africa’s growing role in the global space economy.
He is a regular speaker at high-level conferences and diplomatic events across the world. In April 2024, he was invited to speak at the Meridian Space Diplomacy Forum in Washington, D.C. The panel included representatives from NASA, the U.S. Department of State, and African diplomatic missions. [28]
In addition to his entrepreneurial and academic work, Oniosun holds several prominent global positions. He is a Research Affiliate at the MIT Media Lab, [29] where he explores the intersection of space technologies, policy, and innovation. He also serves as a Council Member on the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Space Technologies, [29] contributing to strategies on the role of space in sustainable development and global cooperation. In 2024, he was appointed a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, where he provides expertise on Africa’s emerging space economy and its role in international policy and diplomacy. [29]
In 2018, Oniosun founded Space in Africa, a media, analytics, and consulting firm focused on the African space and satellite industry. [30] The company is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, and has since expanded with an office in Tallinn, Estonia. [31]
Notably, the firm’s annual African Space Industry Annual Reports, first released in 2019, have become authoritative references. The 2019 edition alone valued Africa’s space industry at over US $7 billion, with projections to exceed US $10 billion by 2024. [32]
In 2018, Oniosun founded the NewSpace Africa Conference, [33] an annual gathering that brings together policymakers, space agency officials, private companies, and academic experts. The conference has been hosted in Kenya, [34] Côte d’Ivoire, [35] Angola, [36] and, in 2025, was held in Cairo, Egypt. [37]
The 2025 edition took place from April 21 to 24 at Egypt Space City, with the theme "Empowering Africa’s Economy through Space‑Driven Innovation". [38] It featured over 500 expert delegates and 400 exhibitors from more than 65 countries. [39]
Crucially, the conference served as the venue for the official inauguration of the African Space Agency, which was formalized during the event in April 2025 in Cairo. [40]
Oniosun has significantly influenced international space policy and global cooperation strategies:
In June 2023, the Temidayo Oniosun Foundation donated a ₦15 million ICT centre to Okaka Grammar School in Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, complete with modern computers and Starlink-powered high-speed internet to bridge the digital divide. [44] The centre serves as a community tech hub, providing training in basic and advanced digital skills to hundreds of local youth.
Additionally, the foundation benefits students by covering annual UTME (JAMB) fees, WAEC tuition, and providing scholarships, aiming to ensure youth access to tertiary education through mentorship and financial support. [45]
He is an investor in multiple African startups. Since 2021, he has backed founders directly and through an angel syndicate, where he has invested in over 40 early-stage companies focused on solving local challenges with scalable solutions. [46]
In August 2025, Oniosun led Nigeria’s first agricultural payload to space, sending melon seeds (egusi) from Nigeria [47] aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was conducted in collaboration with Jaguar Space and The Karman Project, with launch integration handled by SpaceX through NASA’s Crew-11 mission [48] .
Egusi was selected for its cultural significance in Nigeria and its nutritional properties, with the aim of studying how traditional crops respond to spaceflight conditions such as microgravity and radiation [49] . While aboard the ISS, the seeds were stored under controlled conditions for several days before returning to Earth with the Crew-10 mission [50] . Post-flight analyses are being conducted at the University of Florida and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan to assess germination, molecular stress responses, and viability compared to control samples [51] .
The mission combined cultural heritage, scientific research, and agricultural diplomacy, and received coverage from Nigerian and international media including BBC, Forbes Africa [52] , Channels TV [53] , The Guardian [54] , and TVC News [55] . It marked the first time any agricultural product from West Africa had entered orbit [56] .
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