Drone delivery - Afrikan Heroes

Drone Delivery Startup Zipline Launches Operations In Nigeria

February 4, 2021

Drone delivery company Zipline has partnered with Nigeria’s Kaduna, a state in north western Nigeria to enable drone shipment of COVID-19 vaccines.

Kaduna’s collaboration with Zipline, which over the past year has distributed more than 1 million doses of other vaccines in Africa, will also enable blood products, medicines and other vaccines to be delivered on demand.

Zipline also said it is in talks with Nigeria’s other states.

From Delivering Blood to Delivering Pizza, Drones Have To Inspire New Generations of African Logistics Startups On Last Mile Delivery

According to a research report from Radiant Insight, “Unmanned aerial systems(UAS) markets (mostly dominated by drones) stood at $609 million in 2014. They are also expected to grow to $4.8 billion dollars, worldwide this year. The leading markets for drone use and sales include oil and gas mapping, utility line inspection, package delivery, and agricultural applications.

The American startup which delivers medical supplies, including blood, rabies vaccines and antivenom, to thousands of hard-to-reach health clinics in Rwanda and Ghana achieved a unicorn status in May 2019, having reached $1.2 billion in valuation.

The startup crossed the line in a $190 million new venture funding from top venture capitalists, including Baillie Gifford, The Rise Fund (which is TPG’s global impact fund), Temasek, Alphabet’s investment arm GV and Katalyst Ventures. The funding brought Zipline’s total capital raised to $225 million, before finally putting its market worth at $1.2 billion.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

zipline nigeria

Google completes first drone delivery in the US

October 21, 2019

Alphabet (Google) subsidiary Wing has become the first company in the United States to deliver packages by drone.
In Christiansburg, the small Virginia town chosen as Wing’s test location, the 22,000 residents can order products normally shipped by FedEx, medicine from Walgreens and a selection of candy from a local business — all of which will arrive via drone.
Wing, which already operates in two Australian cities as well as Helsinki, announced in a statement that the first drone-powered deliveries had taken place Friday afternoon in Christiansburg, “paving the way for the most advanced drone delivery service in the nation”.

One family used the Wing app to order Tylenol, cough drops, Vitamin C tablets, bottled water and tissues, the statement said. An older resident ordered a birthday present for his wife.
Although the majority of the delivery was done by a FedEx truck, the last mile was completed by drone.
The yellow and white drones are loaded with packages at a local centre of operations called the “Nest,” where Wing employees pack them with up to three pounds (1.3 kilogrammes) of goods, deliverable within a six mile (10 kilometre) radius.
Once they have arrived at their destination, the drones don’t land. Instead, they hover above the house and lower the package with a cable.
Other companies are working to launch similar services, most notably Amazon, UPS and Uber Eats. But Wing was the first to obtain a license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), authorising company pilots to fly multiple drones at the same time.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world