If you are a regular follower of this magazine, or our annua summits, it may not come as a surprise to you when we celebrate every little speck of a hint of a drone product actually made in Africa.

There are really precious few of these on the continent; like the rest of the world, Africa has come to appreciate the usefulness of drone technology for various industrial applications and this explains why we have been importing them by the conveyor belt.

And while this appetite for drone products persists, very little effort seems to have taken root on the innovation front, with only a handful of pioneers on the continent who have actually built drones for the local market.

A company in Tanzania seems keen on bucking the consumerism bug though, as it has launched a locally made drone for the Tanzanian agriculture market.

Mati Technologies has launched as Tanzania's first indigenous firm designing and manufacturing agricultural drones, showcasing its crop-spraying drones at the 2026 Nane Nane Agricultural Exhibition in Dodoma.

Each drone sprays roughly one acre in five to eight minutes, cutting farmers' exposure to chemicals, reducing input wastage, and lowering dependence on expensive imported equipment.

"This is a strategic private-sector investment that directly supports Vision 2050," said Mati Technologies Managing Director Benjamin Mollel, "under which the private sector is projected to drive 70 percent of the economy, with the public sector accounting for the remaining 30 percent."

To be technically accurate, the company does admit that it has to import the electrical components for its drones. With the microchip industry as it is right now, it would not be fair, would it, to expect Mati Technologies to manufacture its own chips for its locally made drones.

So, naturally, we have to expect that the highly specialised foundational electronic components like complex microprocessors (the flight controller "brain"), internal sensors, and advanced lithium battery cells — are sourced globally before being integrated locally.

But the rest of the drone – the physical chassis, framing, structural assembly and software customisation are executed within Tanzania, at the Mati Technologies premises in Dar-es Salam. This has allowed the company to sell its drones – which look like simplistic versions of the DJI Agras by the way – at prices way than the more sophisticated competition from China.

The company's engineer, Patrick Myala confirmed the affordable pricing model, adding that the new drones provide greater precision than conventional spraying and safer working conditions for farmers who no longer need direct contact with agrochemicals.

Mati Technologies has received the thumps up from Tanzania’s agriculture ministry, whose chief Daniel Chongolo, led a tour of its pavilion at the Dodoma exhibition. Chongolo received a briefing from the technology company’s experts on the use of drones for spraying pesticides and agrochemicals on farms to boost productivity and crop production efficiency.

Afterwards, the minister commended Mati Technologies for developing local technologies that contribute to the advancement of the agricultural sector and national economic growth.

In addition to its agricultural drone innovcations, the company showcased other drones used in various other sectors, demonstrating the innovative capacity of Tanzanian technology to provide modern solutions for development needs.

The company’s leadership also met officials from the ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and held discussions that focussed on how local innovations can contribute to education, science, and technology development in Tanzania.