Ahead of OGC Connect Cape Town, we spoke with Prof. Dr. Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Vice Chair of the OGC Board of Directors, about leadership, standards, and the future of the geospatial profession.
Drawing on a career spanning engineering, policy, industry, academia, and international standards, Zaffar shares why Africa is well positioned to leapfrog, why geospatial professionals must do a better job of communicating their value, and why the future of the profession depends on trust, collaboration, and the next generation of leaders.
You recently attended the FIG (International Federation of Surveyors) Working Week in Cape Town. What stood out to you from the discussions?
One thing that really stood out was the willingness of people to come together. Despite the challenges of travel and everything happening around the world, there was genuine enthusiasm to collaborate and learn from one another.
My presentation focused on making standards practical. We often think about standards from a technical perspective, but their real value comes when people can understand them, implement them, and use them to solve real problems. Making standards more accessible is just as important as developing them.
Another recurring theme was the need to prepare the next generation. Many of the people leading standards work today have been contributing for decades. We need to create more opportunities for younger professionals to participate, not only as users of standards, but as contributors who will help shape their future.
OGC Connect returns to Cape Town this October. Based on your recent visit, what conversations or outcomes would you like to see continue there?
One of OGC’s greatest strengths is its convening power. People often think of OGC as a standards organization, but it’s much more than that. It’s a trusted community where governments, industry, and academia come together to discuss shared challenges and find practical solutions.
That convening power is especially important for Africa. Countries across the continent face different circumstances, but many of the underlying challenges, whether they’re related to skills, infrastructure, financing, or implementation, are remarkably similar. OGC has the ability to bring those common challenges together and connect them with the expertise of its global membership.
I’d like OGC Connect Cape Town to demonstrate that strength. The real value of the meeting won’t just be the conversations that happen during the event, but the partnerships and long-term collaborations that continue long after everyone has gone home.
Looking broadly across Africa, what opportunities or challenges should the geospatial community be paying greater attention to?
Africa has an enormous opportunity because it doesn’t have to follow the same path that other regions took to build their geospatial capabilities. It can leapfrog by learning from proven approaches and adapting them to its own priorities.
Digital Earth Africa is an excellent example. It built on the experience of Digital Earth Australia while creating a solution tailored to the needs of African countries. The same principle applies more broadly. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Africa can adapt successful models, whether that’s OGC testbeds or initiatives like the Saudi Arabian National Geospatial Ecosystem.
The challenge is building the capacity and sustainable financing needed to turn those opportunities into long-term success. That’s where OGC’s global community can make a real difference by bringing together governments, industry, researchers, and other partners to help develop solutions that are tailored to Africa’s needs.
Looking back on your career, did you always expect it to lead you here?
Not at all. In many ways, I’m a second-generation geospatial professional because my father worked in the field. As a child, I used to spend weekends helping him trace maps on light tables and doing manual cartographic work. At the time, I didn’t realize those experiences would shape my future, but they gave me an early appreciation for geospatial.
I studied computer science first, then took a job digitizing maps for a salary of 2,000 Indian rupees a month, right as the Y2K boom was pulling every other computer science graduate I knew into high-paying jobs abroad. I chose maps over money. Looking back, that choice gave me something those salaries didn’t: a foothold in a field I loved and a global network I still draw on today.
That same instinct to bet on geospatial over the obvious path showed up again when I moved to Australia. A Ph.D. opportunity came through the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information, and its CEO, the late Dr. Peter Woodgate, became one of the mentors who shaped my career, someone who opened doors for me in international forums I wouldn’t have found on my own.
I never planned to be where I am today. I simply worked hard at every stage and tried to make the most of every opportunity. One of the greatest rewards has been the trust I’ve built with people over many years. Listening, understanding people’s challenges, and contributing wherever I can has helped me build long-term friendships that remain among the greatest strengths of my career.
You’ve worked with governments, organizations, and professionals across many different regions. Despite those differences, are there any common threads you’ve seen throughout the global geospatial community?
Every region has its own priorities, but there are some common threads. One is our shared commitment to helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by using geospatial information to manage resources more responsibly and make better decisions.
The second is passion. Wherever I travel, I meet people who are deeply committed to using geospatial to solve real-world problems.
The third is communication. Geospatial is still a highly specialized field, and one of our biggest challenges is explaining its value to people outside our profession. Whether it’s disaster management, insurance, land administration, or environmental management, we need to do a better job of showing how geospatial information can help other sectors solve their challenges.
From your experience, how much does geospatial information actually influence policy and decision-making? Can you share an example where it led to real action?
Geospatial information plays a significant role because it provides the evidence governments need to make informed decisions—whether that’s managing land, planning infrastructure, optimizing renewable energy, or protecting natural resources.
One example I often use is India. The country introduced both a new Geospatial Policy and a new Space Policy, opening the space sector to private participation while repositioning government as the regulator. Within just two years, that policy intervention had created around 20,000 jobs in the space sector. Since geospatial is the downstream part of the space ecosystem, the impact extends well beyond one industry.
What I find particularly powerful is that these policies support broader national priorities. They encourage indigenous innovation, strengthen sovereign capability, and align with initiatives such as Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. The Geospatial Policy also opened mapping to the private sector in ways that weren’t possible before, helping accelerate innovation while promoting responsible use.
For me, that’s a powerful example of how the right policy doesn’t just regulate an industry -it creates jobs, stimulates economic growth, and builds long-term national capability.
We’ve seen significant advances in GeoAI, digital twins, and Earth observation in recent years. Which of these developments are you most excited about, and where do you think they’ll make the biggest difference?
For me, it’s not about the technology itself, it’s about the impact and the responsible use of that technology.
Take GeoAI, for example. We need greater GeoAI literacy so people understand both what it can do and what it cannot do. Sometimes it’s over-marketed, and sometimes there’s an assumption that AI can solve everything. We need to understand its strengths, its limitations, and where human expertise is still essential.
I also believe we need to start thinking about GeoAI readiness. A GeoAI readiness framework can help organizations manage risk, challenge assumptions, and put the right checks and balances in place. AI can generate answers, but those answers still need to be quality-checked by people.
As a geospatial community, we’ve always cared about lineage, spatial data quality, and provenance. Those principles become even more important with GeoAI. The key question isn’t just whether AI can generate an answer, but whether we understand where that answer came from and can trust it. That’s what gives people confidence to use GeoAI responsibly.
In the geospatial world, what is one challenge that still feels unfinished to you, something you’d like to help move forward in the next chapter of your work?
For me, it’s the next generation of geospatial professionals. We have strong demand for geospatial skills, yet universities are producing fewer graduates, and in some places geospatial programs are even closing. At the same time, there isn’t a well-defined career path for people entering the profession.
One challenge is that geospatial is inherently multidisciplinary. People come into it from computer science, geology, environmental science, engineering, and many other fields. We need better ways to recognize those different pathways while giving professionals a common framework for developing their skills.
I believe this is an opportunity for organizations like OGC. Beyond standards and developer certification, we should also be thinking about education, professional development, and clearer career pathways. If we can make the profession more accessible and provide continuous learning opportunities, we’ll attract more people and better prepare the next generation of geospatial leaders.
You seem to be constantly on the move—traveling, speaking, teaching, mentoring, and juggling many roles. What keeps you going, and what do you enjoy doing when you finally get some time off?
What keeps me going is that people see me as a trusted advisor. They come to me for guidance, and that gives me the opportunity to contribute where I can make the greatest difference.
I like to think of my day in three parts. One is dedicated to my professional work. Another is for volunteer activities—supporting OGC and ISO standards, mentoring, and giving back to the profession. The third is personal time for family, prayers, watching a movie, or simply relaxing. When I’m traveling, it’s usually my family time that I miss the most, although technology helps us stay connected.
Over the years, I’ve also learned that it’s important to say no. I take on roles where I know I can make a meaningful contribution, create positive change, and then empower others to continue the work. That’s what continues to motivate me.
