SpaceX's IPO Handed Amazon a Gift in Africa
As Starlink goes public, Amazon Leo is looking to catch up. And it's a race that the Gulf is watching closely
First Mover, Frozen Out
Last Friday saw the market-changing move to end all market-changing moves. SpaceX officially went public, with its initial public offering (IPO) raising $75 billion, surging shares past $160 during its first day of trading on the Nasdaq.
The IPO catapulted SpaceX’s valuation to nearly $2 trillion and made Elon Musk history’s first trillionaire. A banker described the event as turning “fiction into fact” to the Financial Times.
The historic IPO has been a long time coming for SpaceX. Since its founding in 2002, the organization and its subsidiaries–most notably its satellite constellation service, Starlink–have continued to rapidly expand worldwide, with the IPO undertaken to raise the capital necessary to fuel this global growth.
That growing footprint can be found in every corner of the world, especially across the African continent, and it’s a footprint attracting its main competitor: Amazon’s Leo (formerly known as Project Kuiper).
Officially arriving on the African continent in 2023 with Nigeria, Starlink has since launched service in 27 countries, servicing approximately 275,000 subscribers.
Throughout, Starlink has struck strategic partnerships with leading telecom organizations, such as Airtel Africa, Vodacom, and Jumia, enabling wider consumer access to its satellite network.
The result has propelled Starlink’s coverage. Following its entry into Kenya in July 2023, the company reported a 14.4% quarterly growth rate, reaching 22,282 active subscribers by December 2025.
Likewise, in Rwanda, Starlink reached 4,503 active subscriptions by March 2025, two years after it began servicing the country, a growth largely attributed to state-backed programs connecting 500 rural schools.
Leo is late to the party. In February of this year, Amazon announced it would be teaming up with Vanu, a telecom provider servicing rural areas, to deliver high-quality internet across Southern Africa, with a particular focus on South Africa.
The choice of South Africa is far from a coincidence. Despite Musk being from the country, Starlink has faced one regulatory struggle after another in setting up shop there. South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy mandates a minimum 30% ownership in telecommunications companies by Historically Disadvantaged Persons. That policy has become a regulatory bone of contention with Musk, who has refused to give up equity.
For Starlink, it’s a sticking point; for Leo, it’s an entry point. And while South Africa is just the beginning for Amazon.
Leo secured a seven-year permit from Nigeria to deploy satellite constellations covering three service categories: fixed satellite services (FSS) for homes and offices; mobile satellite services (MSS) for aviation and maritime connectivity; and earth stations in motion (ESIM) for vehicles, ships, and aircraft. That’s a far cry from Starlink, which only provides FSS.
Just last week, Amazon applied for an operator license in Kenya to construct a satellite ground station, connecting its low-Earth-orbit network to terrestrial internet infrastructure in the East African country, opening the gateway to service the continent’s most populous region.
Gulf Money Is Watching
The IPO of SpaceX wasn’t just being watched closely by hedge fund managers or investment bankers in New York. Investors and policymakers across the Gulf had fixed a keen eye on it.
Bloomberg reported that sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were investing up to $5 billion in SpaceX back when the company was valued at approximately $45 billion.
The expansion of Starlink across the continent is equally widening the Gulf’s investment reach. While Gulf foreign investment in Africa has typically centered around energy and its adjacent sectors, Starlink’s entrance into the telecommunications market–fueled in part by GCC money–will also help cement the region’s foothold in the African telecommunications sphere.
The expansion of Leo acts as a hedge against Starlink, particularly as it faces regulatory hurdles in countries like South Africa. With Gulf partnerships with Leo’s parent company Amazon already established, GCC SWFs are poised to expand their telecom reach deep into the continent through further investments in Leo.
In this regard, the telecom rivalry between SpaceX and Amazon in Africa goes far beyond who can provide the widest and strongest coverage. The IPO and Leo’s efforts to catch up are converging into a source of geopolitical influence, a leverage that goes well beyond the numbers on a trading terminal.