Remote-sensing satellites are a core area of German space technology and a focus of the federal government’s high-tech strategy which enjoys substantial public funding. Developing countries offer considerable application potential for remote-sensing data (e. g. weather services, environmental monitoring, agriculture and forestry, urban development, disaster management). User-oriented information services need to be developed in order to achieve these potentials. There are significant deficiencies in this regard in Africa, compared with other continents. The state, as an important sponsor, supporting authority and regulator of technology development, can offer substantial support for applications in developing countries.