Incorporated in 2008, the Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, or Yahsat, provides multipurpose satellite solutions for broadband, broadcast and communications for one billion people in 65 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Brazil, and Central and South-West Asia regions.

However, the company’s true purpose runs deeper.

“We provide communication for the under-served and the unserved,” says Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, its chief executive. “We always knew that the technology we had, which allows us to provide broadband by satellite, would be powerful.”

For example, Yahsat worked with a clinic in a remote region in Kenya that was more than 100 miles from the nearest well-equipped hospital. Previously, test results and diagnostics could take weeks to arrive. A satellite connection reduced the waiting time to just hours.

“Hearing the testimonials from the doctors, we realised that what we do here touches peoples’ lives in ways we couldn’t even imagine,” says Mahmood. “Nothing gives our staff here more worth and value to know that while our work makes commercial sense, it has a meaningful impact at the same time.”

In 2017, Yahsat announced that it had launched the Middle East’s first multidisciplinary academic space programme, partnering with Northrop Grumman and Khalifa University, with endorsement from US university MIT. 

“There are points in time in the history of the development of nations and cities, where moments of excitement last for a few years and create a long-term impact,” says Mahmood. “This is one of these moments.”