Africa’s drone sector will not become a mature industry through more aircraft, qualified pilots and demonstration projects alone. Commercial growth will depend on services that solve defined problems, attract repeat customers and support the cost of safe, regulated operations.
Kim James, director at UAV Aerial Works, discussed the commercial development of Africa’s drone sector during her keynote at the Drone & Unmanned Aviation Conference 2026, held in Johannesburg on 25 June.
James said that “a sky full of drones is not proof of commercial maturity”, arguing that the number of pilots trained, drones registered and demonstrations completed did not show whether businesses were generating reliable income or customers were purchasing services repeatedly.
“A classroom full of pilot students is not creating jobs for us,” she said, adding that a drone corridor was not yet an economy and a regulatory sandbox was not yet a market.
From Activity to Commercial Scale
Africa has many of the conditions that should support drone operations. Large distances, inaccessible areas, infrastructure gaps, security risks and limited visibility across extensive assets create applications for remotely piloted aircraft.
These include infrastructure inspection, mine security, agricultural spraying and mapping, emergency response and the delivery of medical supplies.
The unanswered question is whether these applications are producing sustainable demand at scale.
James said the market currently consisted of several established commercial applications alongside a broader collection of demonstrations, projects and anticipated uses.
A successful flight may prove that a drone can perform a task. It does not prove that a customer will pay enough to support the pilots, supervisors, aircraft, maintenance, data systems and regulatory requirements needed to provide the service.
Training Numbers Do Not Equal Jobs
South Africa illustrates the difference between operational capability and commercial scale.
The country has operated under dedicated remotely piloted aircraft regulations since 2015 and has experience in complex operations, including beyond visual line of sight and night flights.
James noted that operators in several larger international markets were still addressing similar challenges involving beyond visual line of sight operations, integrated airspace and unmanned traffic management.
South Africa’s regulatory experience has, however, not produced a broad and mature commercial market.
James presented figures indicating that South Africa had 4,191 active remote pilot certificates, approximately 4,000 registered drones, 129 active commercial operators and 30 aviation training organisations. Women accounted for approximately 24% of active remote pilots.
She nevertheless questioned how many certificate holders were finding sustainable employment.
James said the number of active certificates was lower than the total previously issued, suggesting that some pilots were not renewing because they had been unable to find sufficient work.
Training and licensing figures alone could therefore not be treated as evidence of commercial growth. More relevant measures included how frequently operators were flying, whether they retained clients and whether their contracts provided adequate margins.
Procurement Must Focus on Outcomes
James identified procurement as one of the main barriers to progress.
Drone tenders and requests for quotations often focused on aircraft specifications, endurance or the price charged per flight hour. This encouraged operators to compete on equipment and price rather than the result required by the customer.
A mining company facing theft and security breaches did not primarily need a drone, she explained. It needed improved visibility, earlier detection and better coordination between its control room and response teams.
James said that “if your drone is the solution, we might not understand the problem”.
The aircraft formed one part of a wider system that could include guards, patrol vehicles, cameras, communications networks and data platforms.
James said commercial value was moving towards data, automation, system integration, regulatory competence and operational reliability as drones became less expensive and more widely available.
She warned that contracts awarded mainly on price could result in a “winner’s curse”, where an operator secured work by undercutting competitors but could not provide the personnel, supervision, spare parts and support required to deliver the service properly.
Where Commercial Value Is Emerging
Mining, security and critical infrastructure protection were among the clearest existing commercial opportunities. These sectors managed large areas, faced measurable losses and already invested in surveillance and response capabilities.
Drone services in these sectors were also competing with established alternatives, including guards, fixed cameras, vehicles and control-room systems. Operators therefore needed to show how unmanned aircraft improved the client’s wider security operation rather than simply providing additional flight time.
Even in these markets, margins were under pressure.
Healthcare and disaster response also offered potential but required clear funding and operating models.
Drones could transport blood products and medication to remote communities, support searches and assess damage after disasters. However, aircraft and trained personnel could not remain available without appropriate contracts or public funding.
Medical delivery projects in other markets had often relied on governments, donors or development organisations. These programmes could provide substantial public benefit without establishing an independent commercial market.
Disaster response faced a similar challenge. The value of an unmanned aircraft may become clear during floods, fires or search operations, but the capability must be funded and maintained before an emergency occurs.
Agriculture could offer a clearer route to private-sector adoption where spraying, mapping or data services reduced costs or improved productivity. James said the opportunity extended beyond selling aircraft and depended on demonstrating practical value to farmers.
Building the Infrastructure for Scale
Large-scale growth would also require changes to the way unmanned aircraft used controlled airspace.
Many operations still depended on individual approvals and manual coordination with air traffic services. This approach could support limited operations but was not suitable for large numbers of routine or automated flights.
Unmanned traffic management systems, digital approvals and reliable communications would be needed before remote operations and delivery networks could expand significantly.
Regulatory sandboxes and test corridors could help regulators and operators develop these systems by providing controlled environments for testing procedures and collecting evidence.
James cautioned, however, that they created the conditions for a market rather than proving that one already existed.
She identified the Western Cape drone sandbox as a promising initiative but said its longer-term value would depend on whether testing resulted in repeatable commercial operations and paying demand.
James said the sector needed to answer basic commercial questions before describing itself as mature: who pays, what outcome is being purchased, how frequently the service is required, what contract supports it and whether the operating model produces a sustainable margin.
Clients would need to purchase outcomes rather than aircraft specifications. Operators would need to provide integrated services rather than selling drones or flight time, while governments would need to support unmanned aviation initiatives with workable funding and implementation plans.
The challenge was therefore not a lack of technology or possible applications. It was converting those applications into fewer, stronger and commercially sustainable models that solved defined African problems.
James concluded that the industry’s priority should not be placing more drones in the sky, but becoming “cleverer about what we are solving for”.
