Ethiopia has launched its first satellite into space with the help of Chinese partners in order to track down agricultural data, africanews.space website has reported.
"This will be a foundation for our historic journey to prosperity," Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen said.
The satellite, ETRSS-1, was launched via China's Long March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan space base in northern China. The Asian nation has also covered most of the satellite's cost of around $8 million.
According to the country's Innovation and Technology Minister Getahun Mekuria, the satellite would save Ethiopia money as previously the country purchased remote-sensing data from foreign satellites.
The data is very sensitive for a country dependant on agriculture and forestry and vulnerable to flood, drought and other climate perils.
Ethiopia with a population of more than 100 million, has one of the world's fastest-growing economies with an average annual GDP growth of 9.9% since 2007.