Company
Built in the middle of Nigeria, for all of Africa
Orbitra started with one dish on a rooftop in GRA, Ilorin. Today we run two satellites, a three antenna ground station and an operations room that never closes.
Founded
2017IlorinStaff
14286 engineersSatellites
2plus partnersCountries served
11exampleTimeline
From a rooftop to orbit
A rooftop dish in GRA
Two engineers back from abroad set up a receiving dish on a rooftop in Ilorin to download free weather satellite images.
The ground station
Three antennas on a five acre site, chosen for its central location and quiet radio environment.
First broadband customers
Rural schools and clinics in Kwara and Niger states come online.
ORB-1 in orbit
Our first imaging satellite, built with partners and operated from Ilorin.
ORB-2 and Insight
A second satellite and the analytics platform for farms, cities and pipelines.
AI line and Vablus
Support and sales that answer day and night, with the operations team a tap away.
Principles
How we work
Run it ourselves
Our own engineers install, operate and support. No anonymous subcontractors.
Data stays here
Customer data is stored in Nigeria.
Plain reports
Maps and numbers a manager can act on, not just pretty pictures.
Train people
Free pass time and internships for Nigerian students every year.
Leadership
The team
Invented people for this demo.
Dr Adebayo Salami
Founder and chief executive
Spacecraft engineer, 15 years in satellite operations.
Engr Zainab Yusuf
Chief technology officer
Leads the ground station and network operations.
Mr Kelechi Nwosu
Head of analytics
Remote sensing scientist, built Insight's crop models.
Mrs Funke Oyelaran
Chief commercial officer
Runs partnerships and public sector work.
Operations
The room that never closes
Twelve operators work in shifts in our Ilorin operations room, watching satellites, passes, every broadband terminal and every tracker. When something goes wrong, they usually call the customer before the customer notices.
- Day and night, every day of the year
- Average time to first response: 4 minutes (example)
- Backup power for 72 hours
Questions
About Orbitra
Are you a Nigerian company?
Yes, headquartered in GRA, Ilorin, with offices in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt (example).
Can we visit the ground station?
Yes, by appointment. We run open days for schools each term.
Come and see the ground station
Book a visit to GRA, Ilorin, or a video tour of the operations room.