Dronelife is honoured to feature this operation by Oivier Defawe, director of Villagereach, an organization that pioneers drones' integration into public health. DroneLife does not accept or accept payments for guest posts.
All images trust Henry Sampanji Sanury, used with permission.
Unlocking African sky: Filling infrastructure gaps with drones
By Olivier Defawe
Africa's infrastructure faces a $90 billion annual funding gap, impeding access to essential products and services. Bold and innovative ideas are needed to drive development and transform our community.
Drone technology unlocks innovative opportunities. Drones can fly to areas where roads are not allowed, and the evidence shows the effectiveness of ensuring that products are delivered to people efficiently compared to traditional ground transport. Drone networks bring important products for healthcare, agriculture, environmental surveillance and disaster response to hard-to-reach communities.
However, innovation alone cannot create value. To date, most drone investments are for innovation itself and do not enable the innovation ecosystem needed to expand and maintain operations. This idea needs to be shifted to achieve the full value of drones.
Ecosystemless innovation
African countries are adopting drone technology early, particularly in healthcare logistics. The success of Rwanda and Ghana in the Zipline Drone Delivery Programme shows how drones can improve medical outcomes by shortening delivery times for critical health products. Similarly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) uses drones to transport laboratory samples more rapidly due to the outbreak of diseases like polio.
However, despite initial success, most drone programs in Africa remain fragmented donor-funded pilot projects that employ only innovation without investing in the necessary supportive innovation ecosystem. The article highlights that, “Rethinking the African infrastructure gap: the innovation ecosystem as the key to sustainable growth,” Efosao Jomo and Malahansense Taples, can we address the challenges of real infrastructure only by investing in both the infrastructure and the innovation ecosystem. For example, more than a century ago, entrepreneurs like Henry Ford and Eli built cars to address the problems of US mobility. However, because automobiles alone do not create economic and social value, Ford and Olds have invested not only in innovation (cars), but also in a broader ecosystem to support cars (i.e. roads, mechanisms, gas stations).
The same can be said for drones. A drone ecosystem must be built by bringing together drone manufacturers, operators, financial institutions, government agencies, private sector, communities, training institutions, and researchers (material science, voyage, sensor systems, etc.) to:
Promotion of agile regulations: Many efforts are being made to shape the cohesive regulatory environment for drone operations by local regulatory bodies such as the African civil aviation authorities, the African Union, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the development agencies such as the World Bank. Nevertheless, flexible and harmonious regulations in the country and sector require more work. Rwanda, for example, has adopted performance-based regulations for drones, supported by the World Economic Forum. Formation of market dynamics: drone use cases within and across sectors, including agriculture, logistics, mining, and more, need to expand, create economies of scale, and reduce the cost per unit of drone service. This helps create a competitive environment for improving drone technology through natural cost optimization. This reduces R&D spending on operations and maintenance. Promoting innovative fundraising and market risk sharing strategies: Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) are uniquely positioned to drive the development of robust drone ecosystems. They can: provide targeted financial tools and risk sharing mechanisms, reducing barriers to market entry. It offers funding options such as joint financing, concession loans, or grants to reduce financial risks for investors and to cover the high costs of ground infrastructure and technology (i.e. drone ports, software platforms). We provide volume guarantees that guarantee a predictable revenue stream for drone operators. Take advantage of pooled procurement to reduce maintenance costs. Enabling the drone (DRONE-as-a-Service (DAAS) model by funding drone operators to provide subscription-based services to drone operators, allowing drone transports to afford the operators and their customers. Build regional capacity: A thriving innovation ecosystem requires strong partnerships between government and the private sector. This targets capacity building efforts, such as startup incubators and training programs that provide people with tools to advance the ecosystem. Two examples of this are African Drones and Data Academy in Malawi and the Drone Academy at DRC.
Create lasting value
Through donors and private sector investments, African countries can elevate drone technology from innovation to something that generates lasting economic and social value. Economically, new employment opportunities can slow down rural departures for young entrepreneurs by investing in local training programs. Additionally, new markets can be reached with local and global, an improved public and private enterprise in drone infrastructure. On the social side, investing in the drone ecosystem means increasing access to critical products such as medicines, vaccines and products needed for farmers and small business owners to successfully operate.
African skies are open. Now it's time to come together and invest in the drone ecosystem to address the challenges of Africa's infrastructure.
About the Author
Dr. Olivier Defawe is a global health innovator specializing in private sector engagement and transformative healthcare solutions for low and middle income countries. As Director of Villagereach, he led the strategic partnership and founded the Drone For Health Program over a decade ago, pioneering the integration of drone technology into public health. His work has enabled successful drone operations in multiple African countries, and now extends to market formation and policy guidance for the drone industry. Dr. Defawe also founded the payload distribution working group UAV, which encouraged global collaboration on drone use in healthcare. He holds a PhD. in biomedical sciences from the University of Liege, Belgium.
About villagereach
villagereach brings healthcare provision to everyone. We are driven by a vision of a world where each person receives the health care they need to flourish. Villagereach works with governments, private sector, partners and communities to create a corresponding primary health care system that provides health products and services to the most underrepresented people. As a locally driven, globally connected organization working across Africa, Villagereci's main goal is to reduce inequality towards quality primary healthcare of 350 million people by 2030.
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Miriam McNabb is Editor-in-Chief of Dronelife, CEO of Jobfordrones, a professional drone services market, and an attractive observer of the emerging drone industry of drones and a drone regulatory environment. Miriam has written over 3,000 articles focusing on commercial drone spaces and is an international speaker and recognized person in the industry. Miriam holds a degree from the University of Chicago and has over 20 years of experience in tech sales and marketing of new technologies.
For consulting or writing for the drone industry, please email Miriam.
Twitter: @spaldingbarker
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