Gaps in fusing AI, drone tech and data analytics

Kenya is eager to be at the forefront of the AI party for economic growth. With new opportunities come challenges, however.

Drone Space CEO Tony Mwangi says the fusion of AI, drone technology and data analytics presents a new platform for discussing the progress and challenges faced in Kenya.  

“When we talk about demystifying and democratising AI, there are still some people who do not understand what AI is and what it can do,” he said. 

“This is the same with drone technology and data analytics.”

According to Statista, Kenya’s revenue in the drones market in 2024 amounts to $1.4 million (Sh184.8 million). 

The market is projected to experience volume growth of 11.1 per cent in 2025.  

Mwangi said even with the rapid growth in the drone tech sector in Kenya, there are challenges experienced by local companies that make it hard for them to do business.  

Some of them include bias by the regulatory authority, roadside regulations and policies as well as licensing issues.  

With AI and data analytics, the challenges faced include legal, policy and regulation frameworks, government support and investment, funding for innovators and proper training.

INAUGURAL CONFERENCE

Drone Space, a leading innovator in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, is set to host its inaugural AI, drone tech and data analytics conference. It is slated to take place on March 26-27 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi.  

The two-day event aims to provide a platform for knowledge exchange, networking and collaboration among stakeholders in the three technologies to streamline their application and address existing gaps. 

“The first expo we hosted was a Drone Tech and Data Expo, which was held on July 4-5, 2022,” Mwangi said.  

The event was centred around showcasing different local drone platforms, softwares and applications that drones can be used for.

“During the first expo, we were able to bring industry players together to indulge in discussions around mapping, filming as well women in drone tech. This set the stage to give a voice to the industry.” 

Mwangi said the event aims to also introduce a different target market to the drone community. 

“We are targeting the masses who think drones are illegal, those who have never seen them and are not aware of their capabilities. We want to change their perspective,” he said. 

Mwangi had an exclusive interview with the Star on the state of drone tech in Kenya, existing gaps in AI, drone tech and data analytics as well as how best to address the challenges faced by the three technologies.  

What is your take on the growth of the drone tech market in Kenya? 

The drone market is significantly growing.  

This is evident as the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has embraced drone tech as a revenue avenue and has ensured that the regulation framework is in place.

We are also witnessing a growing interest in the drone space that goes beyond the gig economy, which only forms a fraction of drone tech capabilities. 

When you look at advanced ways of utilising drone technology, we have operations such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), whereby drones are used to transport goods such as medical and agricultural products, parcels and even e-mobility. 

We have even seen a surge in the number of trainee drone pilots, where out of the 880 trained drone pilots in Kenya, as Drone Space, we have trained 240 of them.  

More and more organisations are coming on board to contract local drone tech companies to conduct operations on their behalf.  

At Drone Space, organisations like UN, WFP and even Kengen have approached us to conduct drone services for them. 

What are some of the challenges faced and how best should they be addressed? 

One of our biggest challenges is bias.  

When we applied for our BVLOS operations licence, it didn’t go through. We were told that we needed to get an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) system, and when we acquired one, we were still not allowed to proceed with operations.  

A UTM system is a traffic management system that allows for uncontrolled drone operations at low altitudes. 

We then partnered with another American organisation called Zipline, and they got permission to start operations, of which they commenced in Kisumu. 

Many local organisations want to do BVLOS operations because they know this is where they can make a lot of money and create a huge base for employment in the drone tech space, but this cannot be achieved simply because we face bias from the regulatory authority.

In terms of regulations, you will find that some of them sometimes work against local companies and the operations that we do.  

I have flown in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and I have been able to compare and see that our regulations are not that very clear.  

When we are conducting our operations, we find that along the way, we usually get a roadside declaration that says we are not supposed to do this or that. 

You are not supposed to bring drones through Eldoret, only through JKIA, but what about those in Mombasa?  

Such bottlenecks and loopholes in the regulation create a difficult operating environment for local drone tech companies. 

As a drone tech community, we have made significant steps to address these gaps.  

Last year, we engaged in a stakeholder meeting to discuss how this can be addressed and gave recommendations. We are yet to get feedback, but we are hopeful. 

As industry players, we feel some of these regulations are too stringent for us to actually make any meaningful careers out of the drone sector. 

In one of the regulations, it stated that segregated airspaces are to be created so that drone pilots who want to do recreational flying can actually do it without question. 

When we ask to go fly in these segregated airspaces, we are told that there are no approved segregated airspaces. 

Today, it is impossible to do recreational flying, which means that one is not able to log in, and if one is unable to log in their hours, then it becomes a challenge to renew licences.

Such frustrations result in non-renewal of licences.  

I call them roadside declarations, but they can be referred to as undocumented laws of rules we are being forced to comply with. 

Night-rating endorsements on the remote pilot licence is also a challenge as there is no regulation to do with night rating, which is actually written in the manual of implementing standards for drones.  

Other challenges include not stipulating the requirements needed for designated flight examiners and instructors, and several roadside declarations, especially when it comes it inspection of drones as a licensed drone reseller.  

These are just but a few of the issues we encounter as a community, and the conference presents an opportunity to echo our concerns. 

How do you evaluate the performance rate of the three technologies across different sectors in Kenya? 

Kenya continues to witness a positive, notable high adoption rate of AI across different sectors. 

Yes, we have shown the willingness to adopt new technologies. This is evident as there is an increasing presence of AI applications across the financial, agriculture, transport and healthcare sectors. 

These are the four main sectors that have seen some serious uptake of AI solutions. 

The adoption rate might not be uniform across the country, but the AI applications that are already out there are immense.  

The regulatory environment is, however, still not as clear. 

When it comes to availability of data, we do not have much of it. It is only recently that we have started collecting data and cleaning it so that it is meaningful.  

As a country, we also have a shortage of skilled human capacity, which can easily be addressed by a lot of partnerships and investment. 

We are yet to maximise the full potential of all these technologies.  

Some will say that we are there because there is the willingness, but when you do the sampling, ours is more of trial and error.  

Most of the time, the private sector leads the conversation, and you will find that the government is lagging. 

If we compare ourselves to other African countries, we have good tech. The local AI apps that I have seen, we are doing an amazing job. 

I have seen five working AI tools that are top-notch, and this is what we want to showcase during the conference. 

The conference seeks to form a basis of assessment; a checklist on where Kenya is in terms of tech.  

In terms of support and investment for startups that have a fusion of the three technologies, what more needs to be done? 

I believe that the government can do more, and the first step being the assurance from President [William] Ruto that the Kenya Startup Bill will be assented to by April this year.  

It needs to partner with the private sector to give startups an opportunity to advance their projects to generate revenue. 

Ministries and parastatals can also show support by procuring some of these locally developed solutions that can serve different ministries.  

We often hear of founders wanting to go establish their startups in other countries and this is because we lack an enabling environment for startups to do business. 

We have close to 300 Venture Capitalists (VCs) locally who can offer support, but some startups do not even know how to pitch for funding.  

Some ideas are good and that is why you might find we have so many innovations, but they are not converting into businesses. 

The government needs to keep coming up with programmes that train and support our own startups.  

It also needs to talk to funders to bring in the funding and share this information so startups can benefit.  

The bar has been set for the integration of women, girls and persons who are differently abled, but we are still not yet there. What are we doing wrong? 

We need proper representation of women and girls in the STEM field as well as for persons living with disabilities. 

Efforts to encourage these vulnerable groups to pursue STEM careers and empower them to build solutions are crucial. 

They often lack access to resources such as funding, training programmes and networking opportunities in AI, drone technology and data analytics. 

We also lack proper policy frameworks, and as far as private sector is concerned, we have a long way to go.  

The government should be at the forefront of campaigning for women, girls and persons living with disabilities by providing them with a platform to innovate and scale.  

EXPO TOPICS 

Mwangi said they are set to bring onboard ventrue capitalists, who will delve into what innovators need to know when it comes to applying for funding. 

Topics for discussion will include cyber security, film making, drone regulation and policy, AI in healthcare, policy data protection and regulation.  

Others include drone early detection of pests and diseases, chatbots for change, exploring data centres and integration of AI for education.  

These conversations will take place in various panel discussions and plenary sessions.  

There will also be exhibitions and a hackathon that will constitute five teams, where the winner will be awarded Sh100,000 on the last day. 

They have a couple of universities that will be showcasing during the conference as well as participating in the hackathon. 

They include Kenyatta University, MultiMedia University and Strathmore University. 

Mwangi said they are yet to receive confirmation from KCA University, Jomo Kenyatta University for Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and University of Nairobi.