topic Re: ESRI Community for AFRICA in Member Introductions

ESRI Community for AFRICA

WilliamTarpai — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:44:07 GMT

While I was searching for ESRI AFRICA community members, I found there was no AFRICA community (America, Europe and Asia only), so I wondered if there were enough Africans involved in GIS to make a community possible? I think there should be, but clearly understand there are massive challenges that most African GIS professionals are working through.

Allow me to backtrack a moment to urge members to review a great post about the Americas and wind projects, and stop to think about how African GIS professionals might write up about the largest wind (AND SOLAR) projects on the African continent.....

The Largest Wind Project in the Americas Required a New Way to Build

By Geoff Wade and Matt Piper. (https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/blog/gis-coordination-largest-energy-infrastructure-construction)

Re: ESRI Community for AFRICA

JesseCloutier — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:33:14 GMT

Hi @WilliamTarpai, Places in Esri Community are requested and overseen by Esri staff or Distributors who are direct stakeholders in the represented area. International areas in Esri Community are typically created for Esri Distributors who have opted for them. In some cases, though, Distributors have chosen to focus their efforts in other channels—this may be influenced by regional norms or preferences. Esri Distributors working within Africa aren't currently facilitating an Esri Community presence, but it's something that we're happy to support should that change in the future. All the best!

Re: ESRI Community for AFRICA

WilliamTarpai — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 20:45:32 GMT

@JesseCloutier Excellent and very helpful post. Not really a solution for me, but a great response. GIS pros in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, (but not to exclude remaining countries on the much in logistical and support need), were whom I was hoping to encourage to reply.

As we have seen at ESRI UC 2026, there were an incredible list of participants doing amazing things in all the far corners of our world today.