Nigerian drone startup Terra Industries beat out a rival bid from an Israeli consortium to provide security for two hydropower plants in a $1.2 million contract.
Terra Industries, earlier called TerraHaptix, will supply a dozen drones and more than 35 towers for a local security company to boost surveillance of the plants, the company’s 22-year-old chief executive Nathan Nwachuku told Semafor. The plants, the location of which was not shared, “have been used as hideouts by bandits and even some terrorists,” Nwachuku said. The first drone deployments are set to begin in a few weeks.
The deal comes amid growing drone adoption across Africa in sectors spanning the military to health care delivery. Terra began producing drones in Abuja in April 2024, banking more than $1 million in revenue from commercial customers in the oil, mining, and agriculture industries in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. “Right now, our fastest growing market is the power sector,” Nwachuku said.