When Rwanda became the first country in Africa to use drones for last-mile health care delivery in 2016, it was hailed as a milestone in humanitarian aid delivery. Zipline, the California-based company behind the project, won global plaudits for showing how emerging technology could leapfrog broken supply chains and save lives in remote areas.
Nine years on, drones delivering medicines are no longer a curiosity. Across sub-Saharan Africa, a growing ecosystem of startups is experimenting with drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to supply hospitals with vaccines, carry lab samples across rivers, and even deliver climate insurance payouts in cash-strapped farming communities.
Drone technology has markedly transformed healthcare across the African continent. Despite funding challenges and regulatory complexities, drones are playing a huge part in saving lives in the region.
But behind the humanitarian narrative lies a harder-edged business question: can Africa’s drone-for-health startups evolve into investable, scalable companies capable of delivering returns for venture capital and private equity investors?
Evolution from healthcare deliveries to fighting deadly diseases
While Zipline blazed the trail in Rwanda, a new wave of innovators is broadening the scope of drone applications in Africa. German startup Wingcopter, which has partnered with UNICEF and African governments, is working to deliver vaccines and essential medicines across hard-to-reach communities.
It ran an extensive pilot program called Drone and Data Aid for over two years before full-fledged implementation. Meanwhile, Sora AI, a Japanese-based and emerging player in the drone-tech ecosystem, is experimenting with AI-driven UAVs that can map outbreaks, monitor mosquito populations, and support malaria and other disease-control programs.
This evolution signals that drones are no longer just about ferrying supplies; they are becoming integral to public health surveillance and disease prevention. For Africa, where healthcare infrastructure gaps remain vast, such innovations are playing a defining role in tackling deadly diseases and scaling access to essential services.
A new chapter in last-mile logistics
In countries like Ghana, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), poor roads and weak infrastructure often make it impossible to move medical products quickly. By flying over rivers, forests, and pothole-ridden tracks, drones collapse delivery times from days to minutes.
Startups such as Zipline, Wingcopter, and SkyPorts are leading the way. In parallel, nonprofits like VillageReach and global organisations such as UNICEF are ensuring that governments integrate these technologies into national health systems.
What is evident is that this sector’s ability to enable faster access to medicines, blood, and vaccines translates directly into lives saved. But one thing increasingly debated among investors is whether this sector can transition into sustainable commercial ventures.
From aid dependency to commercial revenue
Most drone operations in Africa were initially funded by development aid. Zipline’s expansion into Rwanda and Ghana leaned heavily on partnerships with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and foundations such as UPS. Malawi’s “drone corridor,” set up with UNICEF in 2017, invited NGOs, universities, and startups to test UAV use cases.
Yet a shift is underway. Governments are starting to sign service contracts with drone operators, treating them as logistics providers rather than experimental add-ons. For example, Rwanda pays Zipline for national blood deliveries, and Ghana’s Ministry of Health has integrated the company’s services into its own budget.
Drone startups are no longer selling just technology, they are selling logistics-as-a-service. This mirrors how cloud computing shifted from upfront software licensing to subscription-based SaaS. For investors, recurring revenue contracts with governments or insurers offer a more predictable business model.
Beyond health: mining and the next frontier
The reframing of drones as infrastructure is not confined to healthcare. Nigerian startup Terrahaptix is proving that the same model can extend to industries like mining. In December 2024, the company announced a deal to export its drones to South Africa, where they will be used for surveying, equipment inspection, and monitoring hazardous zones.
The company counts majority of its customers in mining sector. With global data showing that 65% of mines now deploy drones - up from just 44% in 2018 - the company is betting on a sector valued at $31.4 billion today and projected to top $103 billion by 2031.
Nwachukwu is bullish about the sector: “I see us dominating critical sectors like mining and oil within the next year or two.” Terrahaptix has already surpassed its order target of $1.6 million and is on track to cross $2 million in revenues in its first year, with 75% of sales coming from outside Nigeria.
The startup also has a cost advantage. By sourcing 80% of its drone materials locally, Terrahaptix prices its products at nearly half the cost of competitors. This gives it an edge in a competitive landscape that includes South Africa’s Aerobotics, DroneSnap, and Drone Air, as well as global players.
Crucially, Terrahaptix is benefiting from what Nwachukwu calls a “mining renaissance in Africa,” driven by the surging global demand for lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries. Lithium production rose by 80% between 2021 and 2023, and with EVs projected to dominate future car sales, African mines are becoming strategically vital.
It opened a 15,000 sq ft factory to begin producing drones. It is in the process of setting up a second plant in another West African country.
By positioning itself at the intersection of mining, technology, and the EV supply chain, Terrahaptix offers a glimpse of how Africa’s drone ecosystem could scale beyond healthcare.
Terrahaptix is not alone. KIFTA, another Nigerian company, has built a niche in drone solutions for agriculture and infrastructure monitoring, helping governments and private firms digitize operations across sprawling farmlands and oil pipelines. Its model positions drones as a data service-less about the flying machine, more about the intelligence gathered.
Then there’s Proforce Defence, a defense and mobility company that has expanded from armored vehicles into military-grade drone systems. With governments across Africa seeking more localized solutions to border security and counter-insurgency, Proforce’s drone technology reflects a growing trend: drones are not just commercial tools, they are becoming part of Africa’s national security architecture.
In agriculture, South Africa’s Aerobotics has recently raised $17 million to use drones, satellites, and machine learning to give farmers insights into their crops. “We started in a citrus farm, but today our tools are used in 18 countries,” CEO James Paterson told TechCabal.
Farmers can track trees, detect disease, and even model crop insurance using Aerobotics’ cloud-based app. It’s agritech with a digital edge - combining hardware, software, and satellite data to tackle food security in a climate-challenged world.
Together, these companies highlight the breadth of Africa’s drone industry - spanning mining, agriculture, and defence. They are also tapping into powerful macro tailwinds.
The investor dilemma: huge potential, high risk
Africa’s health logistics market is potentially vast. McKinsey estimates that 60% of medical supply chains in sub-Saharan Africa are “inefficient or broken.” If drones can even capture a small share of last-mile deliveries, they could address a multi-billion-dollar market.
However, investors face multiple risks: Unit economics remain uncertain; Regulation is patchy. Aviation authorities in countries like Nigeria and Kenya are still cautious about approving large-scale drone flights; Dependence on governments raises political risk. A change in leadership could freeze contracts overnight. Hardware and maintenance costs remain high, especially when imported.
These risks explain why, despite the hype, few African drone startups have raised significant venture capital rounds. Most still rely on blended finance - mixing aid, philanthropy, and limited commercial revenue.
A platform play, not just a drone play
For years, African drone startups have been seen largely through the lens of logistics - small aircraft carrying blood, vaccines, or test samples across hard-to-reach terrain. But venture capitalists are increasingly suggesting that if these companies want to unlock serious funding, they need to frame themselves not merely as drone firms, but as platform companies.
“Hardware on its own rarely excites investors. What excites us is when that hardware becomes the gateway to broader ecosystems,” says Anand from Celeistas Venture Partners. “In the case of drones, the opportunity lies in how they connect with healthtech, fintech, and data.”
One possible trajectory is in healthcare. Instead of being perceived as just delivery vehicles, drones could be integrated with electronic health records and supply chain platforms to give ministries of health real-time visibility into stock levels. “Imagine a system where a drone doesn’t just drop off medicine, but also instantly updates a national dashboard so policymakers know which clinic is about to run out,” notes Anand.
Another promising avenue is finance. Drones, investors argue, could serve as a channel for distributing microinsurance payouts or delivering credit to remote clinics. “If fintech can move money, drones can move the goods that money buys,” Anand points out.
He points to Ripple’s early experiments with stablecoins for humanitarian aid in Kenya as an example of how payments and aerial logistics could converge.
Then there is data, the unspoken goldmine. Drones in the air are effectively IoT devices, gathering everything from climate and crop data to disease surveillance. This information could be monetised by insurers, agritech firms, and even governments.
“What if the drone network that delivers vaccines is also the continent’s richest source of population health data?” asks one investor. “That’s the kind of platform play that moves the needle for venture capital.”
To attract capital, drone companies will have to reposition themselves as more than couriers of cargo. They must become infrastructure players sitting at the intersection of healthcare, finance, and data - a platform story rather than a logistics story.
These adjacencies are what could make drone startups investable. As one Nairobi-based Parter at a VC firm told Business Case Africa: “The hardware is impressive, but the real upside is in the platform economics. Whoever owns the health and logistics data layer wins.”
Signals from the market
Zipline has raised over $1 billion from backers including Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz. While its African operations began with donor support, it now has commercial contracts in the US, Nigeria, Kenya, and Japan. For VCs, Zipline shows there is a route from aid pilot to global unicorn.
Wingcopter, a German startup, secured €40 million in Series A funding in 2022. Its Malawi operations provided proof points for investors interested in humanitarian markets that scale globally.
These cases highlight that Africa is not an isolated test bed it is a proving ground that global investors are already watching.
The PE perspective: Infrastructure, not gadgets
Private equity investors, typically more cautious than VCs, may find drone logistics attractive if reframed as infrastructure bets. For example, building drone “ports” and integrating UAVs into national supply chains resembles investing in telecom towers a decade ago.
If African governments commit to outsourcing logistics at scale, drones could become embedded infrastructure with long-term annuity-style cash flows. That kind of stability would attract PE firms seeking predictable returns rather than moonshot growth.
Betting on the leapfrog
For investors, drones may feel like a risky bet in Africa’s healthcare space. Yet the same was once said of mobile money. When M-Pesa launched in Kenya in 2007, few imagined it would spawn a multi-billion-dollar fintech ecosystem.
Drone startups may represent a similar leapfrog moment. They are not just solving humanitarian crises; they are building the infrastructure of Africa’s future logistics networks. For VCs and private equity firms willing to shoulder the risks, the payoff could be a front-row seat to the continent’s next big tech transformation.