As major global economies assess the viability of advanced air mobility (AAM), Africa is quickly positioning itself as a frontier for low-altitude innovation. With drone corridors already operational in countries such as Rwanda and Ghana, and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) moving from concept to real-world demonstration, the continent is no longer a passive observer in the AAM race—it is actively helping to redefine its course.

The Aviation Africa 2025 Summit intensified this focus. Notably, featuring a strategic partnership with the African Drone Forum (ADF), a pan-African initiative that convenes policymakers, UAV operators, investors, and regulators. The summit spotlighted regulatory harmonisation, advanced cargo use cases, and the operationalisation of drone corridors—transitioning the narrative from proof of concept to scalable logistics solutions.

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For air cargo professionals, these developments pose both opportunities and challenges: while AAM may enable leapfrogging infrastructure constraints, its mainstream integration will require a recalibration of traditional freight models, policy frameworks, and investment priorities.

Humanitarian aid to commercial logistics

Africa’s involvement in AAM has largely been humanitarian in origin. Rwanda was the world’s first country to authorise drone-based blood and vaccine deliveries through its partnership with Zipline. Since 2016, Zipline has completed more than 500,000 deliveries across Rwanda and Ghana, with expansion underway in Nigeria and Kenya. This early success laid the foundation for more expansive drone applications—moving from medical payloads to e-commerce, agriculture, and cargo use cases.

Beyond public health, start-ups in South Africa, Tanzania, and Nigeria have begun deploying fixed-wing and rotor drones for crop spraying, infrastructure monitoring, wildlife conservation, and disaster response. The next logical step, now under active exploration, is their integration into broader air logistics systems—spanning middle-mile transport, airport shuttle services, and urban cargo drops in densely populated cities such as Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg.

“From Rwanda’s drone corridors to Kenya’s wildlife surveillance projects, we are witnessing a ground-up transformation in how Africa views and utilises its airspace,” Alan Peaford, Chairman of the Aviation Africa Summit, said.

Regulatory friction

Despite these early deployments, regulatory bottlenecks continue to constrain growth. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations—the core enabler of commercial drone logistics—remain either restricted or inconsistently governed across African Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs). Moreover, the absence of a unified Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system complicates cross-border coordination, an essential feature for integrating AAM into existing trade corridors.

“ADF’s primary goal at Aviation Africa 2025 is to move Africa’s drone future from policy discussions to practical implementation,” Jonty Slater, ADF co-chair, stated. “We must foster regulatory clarity, advance BVLOS capabilities, and strengthen the continent’s readiness for full-scale AAM operations.”

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Efforts are underway to develop a harmonised AAM policy framework under the African Union and African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC). However, fragmentation persists, leading many logistics providers to remain cautious—especially in cross-border operations involving perishable or high-value goods.

Low payloads, high impact

In air cargo terms, drones and eVTOLs occupy a unique space—suited not for bulk, but for urgency. While a drone might carry only five to ten kilograms, it can dramatically reduce lead times for life-critical shipments such as medicines, replacement parts, and high-value perishables. These technologies are particularly relevant in regions where infrastructure is sparse but demand for fast delivery is growing, including tier-two cities and remote industrial zones.

The business case for eVTOL cargo is being explored in Southern Africa, where tourism operators aim to use aerial logistics to move guest supplies to remote eco-lodges. Similarly, urban areas are evaluating eVTOL deployment for intra-city parcel delivery, thereby mitigating surface congestion.

However, scale remains a concern. According to Drone Industry Insights, Africa’s commercial drone market in 2023 stood at just 150 million US dollars—less than three percent of global market share. For AAM to transition from humanitarian novelty to commercial mainstay, investment in ground handling, droneports, energy infrastructure, and airspace digitalisation will be essential.

Operators and adjustments

For traditional air cargo carriers, integrating AAM into existing operations necessitates a revision of service-level agreements (SLAs). The variability in drone reliability, capacity constraints, and weather sensitivity means that route planning, insurance liability, and warehousing strategies must all adapt. Moreover, traditional freight forwarders must rethink their offerings to incorporate hybrid models—pairing conventional long haul with drone-led final mile services.

Additionally, digital cargo documentation, real-time visibility platforms, and API-based customs systems must evolve to accommodate smaller, higher-frequency shipments. These demands will likely accelerate blockchain and AI deployment across African cargo supply chains.

Finance, infrastructure and institutions

Infrastructure investment will determine the speed at which Africa can absorb AAM. This year’s Aviation Africa will include a financing session focusing on blended capital models for drone corridors and eVTOL networks. Development finance institutions (DFIs) are expected to play a catalytic role, along with sovereign wealth funds and climate finance channels, given AAM’s potential to lower logistics-related emissions.

Already, countries such as Rwanda and Kenya are experimenting with drone hubs, while start-ups are raising funds for battery-swapping stations, solar-powered charging docks, and smart inventory systems. There is also growing interest in dual-use corridors—where civilian drones and air cargo drones share infrastructure with defence and emergency services.

Implications and outlook

From a policy perspective, Africa’s AAM expansion provides a timely case study in regulatory foresight and logistics innovation. It forces a rethinking of air cargo not as a purely airport-centric operation, but as a distributed aerial supply chain—one that includes low-altitude infrastructure, decentralised warehouses, and AI-managed airspace.

Moreover, Africa’s experimentation with AAM could offer lessons for other emerging regions facing similar infrastructure and policy gaps. If regulatory harmonisation under frameworks such as AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) can be achieved, drone cargo treaties could emerge—standardising tariffs, safety protocols, and risk mitigation across borders.

A real-world testbed

For the global air cargo industry, Africa’s rapid advancement in low-altitude logistics offers both insight and invitation. While payload limitations and regulatory complexity remain hurdles, the continent’s real-world pilots, policy dialogues, and institutional engagement suggest that the AAM conversation is maturing—and fast.

As Alan Peaford noted, “Africa’s low-altitude airspace is no longer about experimental air taxis or theoretical models. It is a working laboratory for the future of decentralised, sustainable air cargo logistics.”