Leading drone startup in Rwanda, Charis UAS, has announced that it has secured a major investment from XM2 PURSUIT, a leading global provider of moving camera systems. The investment will be used to speed up the expansion across the African continent of its drone development and solutions.

“We are thrilled to work with a cutting-edge company such as XM2 PURSUIT. As a result of this investment, we plan to rapidly expand across the continent and build upon our current drone-based technological solutions and manufacturing services,” said Eric Rutayisire Muziga, Founder and CEO of Charis UAS. 

The exact amount involved in this funding round was not disclosed, but XM2 PURSUIT’s investment in Charis UAS would assist the Rwandan drone firm to broaden its market reach and further cement its position as a leader in drone services in Africa and internationally.

“Africa is rapidly adopting new technologies and open to new innovations,” said Charis UAS’s Eric Rutayisire Muziga, “Having the investment, support, and expertise of XM2 PURSUIT will help us execute our vision to support intelligent decision making and scale up the manufacturing of drones on the African continent. This will also create thousands of high skilled jobs for the youth on our beloved continent.”

Why The Investor Invested

XM2 PURSUIT is a UK-based leading global supplier of video, TV, visual effects, and industrial moving camera systems. XM2 PURSUIT blends seasoned crews with the latest innovations in engineering and video equipment, capable of capturing beautiful, high-detail material from almost any moving platform.

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On why it invested, Aidan Kelly, COO of XM2 PURSUIT noted that Charis UAS’s strong track record within Africa inspired the investment.

“Whether its designing solutions, integrating workflows, utilizing automation or delivering data in meaningful ways, our investment into Charis UAS is part of our plan to partner with leaders in their field around the world, to unlock the true potential that aerial and remotely sensed data can provide,” he said.

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A Look At What Charis UAS Does

Established in 2014, Charis UAS became the first-ever licensed UAV company in Rwanda and gained a distinct first-mover advantage within Africa’s rapidly developing drone industry.

The Charis UAS started as a dream for founder Muziga when he was in a mentorship program at the University of Minnesota, United States. 

“I was paired with a mentor who was a drone technology hobbyist,” he said. “So we started working together and built the first few drones which kick started our company. The deeper I dove into the technology, the more apparent it became to me that there was immense opportunity for it, and we have been providing more and more solutions since then.”

Muziga said he used his tax refunds while still at school to kickstart the drone operations. 

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“Once we started providing solutions for free and people started seeing the value,” he said, “we started attracting many more customers who had confidence in the service we could provide.”

Today, Charis UAS has assisted many governments and private companies through its advanced data analytics to improve their business processes and create a powerful social impact within their communities for example, the use of drones to tackle malaria and to advance local energy programs. Charis UAS has continued to break ground by positioning itself as Africa’s first commercial drone manufacturer with the launch of the first ever made-in-Rwanda drone in February 2020.

Since it was founded in 2014, Charis UAS has expanded rapidly and now operates in five countries in Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. 

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