Sales and Market Development - Middle East and Africa, Astranis
Abdikadir Awabdi
Abdikadir Awabdi
Abdikadir Awabdi joined Astranis in January 2023 and leads the Sales & Market Development activities for the Middle East and Africa. Astranis builds and operates small, low-cost MicroGEO telecommunication satellites, with a mission of bringing the world online. In 2023, Astranis launched their first satellite, marking the completion of phase one in its mission to deliver affordable, dedicated broadband, anywhere in the world. Last year, Astranis launched the single largest group of GEO satellites ever deployed at one time (four in total), marking the completion of phase two. Astranis’ customer base spans multiple sectors, including Mobile Network Operators (MNO), Internet Service Providers (ISP), Government entities, and In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) providers. To date, they have sold 13 satellites and accumulated a contract backlog valued at $1.3 billion. Recently, Astranis was selected as the prime contractor for the U.S Space Force’s (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) new Resilient GPS (R-GPS) program. Before joining Astranis, Mr Awabdi held various roles at SES and Intelsat, two prominent global satellite operators. His roles spanned Corporate Development, Strategy & Market Intelligence, Government & Institutions, and Commercial Development across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United States. Abdikadir holds a bachelor’s degree with Honors in Business and Management from Oxford Brookes University in the UK, and a Master’s degree in Space Management from International Space University in France.
