In 2022, ENRICH in LAC lauched two calls for Outreach Grants to support European and Latin American research-driven SMEs to connect and explore possibilities of cooperation and bring their technological solutions into the markets. The purpose of this grant was to provide travel grants for feasibility visits or for participating on international fair and conferences.
Aila Raquel, a Brazilian scientist, entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer of Alya Nanosatelites Constellation E.O., was the selected grantee of our first call. She received support to participate and present a scientific paper at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris, France, in September 2022.
In this interview, Aila talks about how she founded her start-up, Alya Nanosatelites, her projects in Bahia (Brazil), working with R&D, challenges of the aerospace field, internationalization to Europe and much more!
- Could you tell us about your company and your research in the area of nanosatellites?
Alya was founded in 2019 in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil) after I took part in a start-up acceleration programme at the Founder Institute. Soon after founding the company I participated in the Amazonia Challenge competition where I had access to the Department of Science and Technology of Aeronautica and could make the incubation of Alya. Alya’s mission is to launch observation and monitoring nanosatellites that cover the whole earth’s territory using special sensors with hyperspectral cameras. The images and the data captured through these cameras can be used in projects related to agriculture, oil and gas, environmental protection, natural desasters, etc. In order to asure a high degree of reliability, I am producing validation and calibration parks (Cal/Val parks) in Bahia that can simulate different natural environments, varing from vegetation to soil and water conditions.
Our nanosatellites mission is being developed in Europe where I could find more expecienced actors, building partnerships with experts in the aerospace field. Alya was already recognised by the French government as an innovative enterprise and I as a talented businesswoman. I am also incubated in a techpark in France. It’s an opportunity for me to give the first steps towards the internationalisation of Alya in Europe. Our goal since the beginning of the project is to distribute and make available the data we produce, allowing us to reach a large quantity of data processors and reducing the costs of data. In Europe, I also found AESA programms which I can join as a European organisation and distribute this data on a free of charge basis all over the world. This has always been my mission, I want facilitate the access to data so we can forward solutions to a variety of problems using specialized sensors.
In my most recent trip to Europe I gathered an amazing international and interdisciplinary team of data processing experts and now we want to bring this expertise to Brazil to train local data processors. We can already map underground water, map underground pipe leakage. We even started a disruptive research to study underground water in the moon. All of this is done in the scope of global partnership for mutual growth I want all actors to work and grow together.
2. How does your work contribute to the development of R&D in aerospace industry in Brazil?
In Alya, the Cal/Val parks are where we most incorporate R&D, as in these parks we need to maintain data processors and scientists that will constantly create algorythms to be sent to the satellites in orbit, training the sensors to recognise these environments on the earth’s territory. Such algorythms can support us in creating alerts for natural disasters, plantation fields (to avoid crop failure, for example), ocean pollution and discorevy of fish shoal. In Bahia, I had the chance to build a strong partnership with SENAI CIMATEC. CIMATEC adds great value in the work of industry solutions as Alya’s researchers can collaborate with specialists, fostering R&D in different fields. In addition to CIMATEC, we also collaborate with EMBRAPA and other national institutions for agriculture and environmental protection. We will work similarly in the ground stations that we want to build in Brazil located in the southeast, northeast and north regions. Each of them will monitor the satellites, build and transfer data from scientific research. They will also be used to train the space, electro and mechanical engineers who will be involved in the work of controlling rockets and satellites.
3. How did you hear about ENRICH in LAC and the Outreach Grants?
I was invited for a conference in Rio de Janeiro organised by EUREKA, where I could pitch my business idea of an innovative Brazilian aerospace organisation. There, I saw a presentation about ENRICH in LAC and I was immediately interested as I believe ENRICH in LAC is deeply connected to my project and the work developed by Alya through the mutual partnership for global solutions. In this occasion, I could talk to the speaker [Filipe Cassapo, president of ENRICH in LAC] and began to establish my relationship with ENRICH. Later, I participated on an event organised by ENRICH in LAC, presenting my company and making business connections. Since then I have been following up with ENRICH in LAC’s activities.
I wrote an article in co-authorship with the brazilian space agency attorney, Dr. Ian Grosner, which was accepted for the International Astronautical Congress in France. However, neither of us had any funding from Brazil to defende our article in the congress, one of the most important ones in the sector. Luckily, I received the information in one of the ENRICH in LAC newsletters about the Outreach Grants Call which offered financial support to participate in fairs and conferences. That was exactly what I needed at the time so I applied and I was very happy to know I was granted the support. As an innovative businesswoman from Brazil, being internationally recognised in my field and bringing considerable development prospects for Brazil and the world, I could not get the support needed elsewhere. Therefore, ENRICH in LAC were truly the ones that allowed for my participation in IAC to defend my paper and I was extremely happy with that.
4. How did the ENRICH in LAC Outreach Grant contribute to your efforts in establishing research and business connections in Europe?
Ever since I started my project I have been developing several connections in Europe in different levels. I like to participate and have been invited to variour international in conferences and forums. Therefore, through my organisation I have already established many international connections. When I was aware that ENRICH in LAC also developed this type of partnerships I was even more interested. Now I am looking to deepen my relationship with ENRICH in LAC to further the collaboration. I believe that the more connections the merrier. In the digital era, I understand that the most important is to foster international partnerships. As pioneers, we can open new doors for anyone else to work in a stable environment. So when I know I can count on organisations such as ENRICH in LAC I feel more confident in the relationships I build for a better gobal performance.
5. In September 2022, you presented a scientific paper in the International Astronautical Congress in Paris, the largest space industry congress in the world. What does that represent to you and to other Brazilian researchers?
For me that was the moment in which I could express my ideas and give away my message: “what are the difficulties that I must overcome as a Brazilian woman venturing in the aerospace sector in Brazil and abroad? This brings certain values to the public. I think most people have no idea about all the challenges we face to come where we came, or the lack of opportunities to present a high-level projects on a bigger scale. I was lucky that at the time of my presentation at the IAC we managed to go live. There were few presentations that could have been live streamed and mine was one of them. That was very rewarding for me to be able to reach a broader audience because the more people know about you and your project the more doors and opportunities are open for your project to develop.
Furthermore, it is also a source of inspiration for a lot of people. Being exposed to this kind of content and information can encourage them to find strength and overcome challenges and find global solutions for humankind. The IAC was truly a fantastic environment where I could establish several partnerships, not only due to my presentation but throughout the whole congress. Important names from the space sector attended the event, from business organisations to government representatives. So being present at the event was one the biggest highlights of my carrer. I had the chance to find many quality partners, expose my work in front of an amazing audience and get a message across from Latin America, as a Brazilian woman, representing the female leadership in the aerospace sector.
6. What are the next steps to develop your business in Brazil and in Europe?
At this moment in France, I am founding our European company to develop and integrate the nanosatellites also in Europe. Not only in France but I have great partnerships in Switzerland, Italy and England. In Brazil, we will continue to build our Cal/Val parks and ground stations. Actually it is all connected to the mission. From the nanosatellites and how I will deliver quality assured products thanks to our Cal/Val parks in Brazil to how we will control our constellations from Brazil but also from abroad by establishing international partnerships. It is a mission without borders. At the same time that I can import from Europe great expertise in the field of nanosatellites, I can also provide Europe the possibility to use our ground stations and Cal/Val parks by creating not a bridge but as I like to call a real “duct of passage” between all my employees and people who need training. The idea is to allow for an international experience for Alya employees from Brazil, and vice-versa for Europeans in Brazil. Actually it goes beyond Europe. Right now, we work also with Asia (China to be precise) and the United States. So we cover three continents developping close business relationships to provide an international environment and to create a better momentum for all parts involved bringing great innovative solutions for the global market.