When an African airport looks for modern software, they typically encounter a familiar set of vendors: SITA, Amadeus, TAV, and a handful of others. These companies have dominated airport technology for decades.
But their pricing models present a fundamental mismatch with African realities.
The Cost Barrier
A typical enterprise airport management system costs:
- $500,000 - $2,000,000 for initial implementation
- 18-24 months for deployment
- Ongoing maintenance fees of 15-20% annually
- Additional costs for customization and integration
For an airport handling 1-2 million passengers annually, these costs can exceed their entire IT budget.
The Hidden Costs
Beyond the sticker price, legacy systems bring hidden costs:
- Hardware requirements that may not exist at smaller airports
- Implementation teams that require travel and accommodation
- Training programs designed for large IT departments
- Customization that costs extra for every local requirement
The Feature Mismatch
Perhaps most importantly, these systems often include features African airports don't need, while lacking features they do need:
- Complex integrations with European rail networks (irrelevant)
- Multilingual support limited to European languages (insufficient)
- Offline capabilities treated as edge cases (essential in Africa)
- Mobile-first design absent (critical for African users)
A New Model
AfriGates was built on a different premise:
- Pricing that scales with airport size (starting at $30K/year)
- Deployment in 4 weeks, not 24 months
- Features designed for African realities
- White-label at no extra cost
African airports deserve modern technology — at prices they can afford.