Attacks on important African infrastructure are not uncommon. This year, rebel extremist groups led to the temporary closure of tin mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the battle in Sudan’s civil war caused flames at the country’s largest oil refinery.
Such disruptions not only threaten the local economy, they can retreat the entire continent and discourage foreign investment, where many large infrastructure projects rely on.
“These are key attacks that take place on strategic infrastructure that directly affect economic development,” Oluwole Ojewale, regional coordinator for Central Africa at the Security Institute, tells CNN. He focuses on the example of Nigeria where terrorist attacks on oil pipelines are driving the country from meeting its production quota.
He says that both public and private companies are changing their strategies for protection and turning their eyes to autonomous systems to address security concerns.
Terra Industries (formerly Terraptix), a robotics and manufacturing startup based in Abuja, Nigeria, is building autonomous security systems equipped with artificial intelligence and drones that help detect threats and protect key industries on the continent, such as energy, mining, communications and agriculture.
The company was founded in 2024 by two young Nigerians, Maxwell Maduka, 23, and Nathan Nwachuk, 22.
Last February, it launched what it called Nuwachuk, the largest drone factory in Africa, located on the outskirts of Abuja, 15,000 square feet (1,394 square meters) of space. Nwachuku says it can build 30,000 drones a year, although it is not yet fully capable of producing. This includes long-range drones built for surveillance missions, quadcopters for initial response and data collection, and small self-driving vehicles for ground surveillance.
In May it won a $1.2 million contract with private security company Nethawk Solutions to deploy AI-powered drones and surveillance towers at two Nigeria hydroelectric power plants. This system helps companies detect and monitor potential threats such as Bandits.
The company already exports drones to eight African countries and Canada, protecting an estimated $11 billion in assets, according to co-founder and CEO Nwachuku. This includes key infrastructure such as power plants, lithium mines, gold mines, and oil refineries.
“We expanded with little resources,” says Nwachuku. “Terra today actually raises under $600,000 and currently earns $1.9 million.”
Nuwachuk’s goal has always been to support Africa’s industrialization. For that to happen, he says, “we must resolve a common denominator that is unsettling,” he says.
One of the key early focuses was the development and construction of in-house software and hardware. Software with AI called Artemisos is the brain of the system and is attracting the company’s international attention.
“We collect all the surveillance data from all these different systems. We analyze this data in real time looking for threats, and once discovered, we alert the response teams that need it, whether it’s a security agency or an internal response team,” says Nwachuku.
He believes that the company’s internal approach sets the company apart from its competitors. Some sensors and cameras are imported from countries including Korea, but software, aircraft, propellers and lithium-ion battery packs are manufactured in-house. “It helps to provide (provides) more secure data security,” he adds.
Terra Industries is partnered with local cloud platform PipePOPS rather than a global company, allowing you to maintain data sovereignty. “We need to maintain our data in Africa’s hands,” Nwachuku said, adding that this not only supports African businesses, but also helps keep data safe from global leaks.
Just as manufacturing in Africa employs talent, manufacturing in Africa is cheaper than in the US and Europe, so staying local costs. According to Nwachuku, these savings are passed to clients, with early hardware purchases being up to 55% cheaper than their international competitors. Over the initial cost, clients must pay for the software each year. Without a software subscription, Terra hardware will no longer work, but clients can integrate Terra software into hardware from other providers.
Security Institute Ojewale said Terra Industries is currently not facing many local competitors, but expects a “surge in companies” in the market. “The continent is wide. We need to protect all critical infrastructure, from Angola to Mozambique to Nigeria.”
Victoria Lubadiri contributed to this story.
