The African Development Bank and Aerosense Inc have signed an agreement to advance cooperation and projects for drone technology in Africa.
Aerosense Inc. is a leading Japanese company engaged in drone manufacturing.
Representatives of both institutions signed a Letter of Intent on the side-lines of the recently held, ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan.
The agreement was signed by the AfDB Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization Solomon Quaynor and the President and Chief Executive for Aerosense Inc. Kohtaro Sabe.
The agreement formalizes a relationship of mutual co-operation, assistance, information and knowledge sharing between the two institutions, exploring co-financing and deal opportunities and appropriate coordination of actions between them and their respective teams, specifically concerning the promotion of sustainable infrastructure solutions in Africa.
Aerosense Inc.’s drone solution was previously selected through a call for proposals under the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Road Maintenance Program for Africa (SRMPA) in June 2025.
Under the agreement, the Bank will facilitate coordination with the public sector, lead awareness-raising campaigns, support capacity building for local partners, and explore possible debt or equity financing support for projects related to the deployment of drone solutions.
Aerosense Inc. on its part, would conduct demand studies for drone solutions in target African markets, perform technical feasibility studies for the application of drone solution, considering local geographical conditions, and explore possible deployment opportunities upon positive feasibility study results.
“The program is a bold response to Africa’s growing infrastructure challenges. By partnering with Aerosense, we will not only promote efficient road management but also consider promoting other unique solutions such as disaster management and flooding control, agricultural sensing, and medical equipment delivery,” Quaynor said.
“It is a great honor to serve the people in Africa with our Japanese technology for enhancing their quality of life. We are looking forward to collaborating with AfDB to build a better future together in a concrete manner,” Mr. Sabe stated
Established in 2015, with the mission of “bringing about change and contributing to society with drone technology”, Aerosense is developing unique hardware and software solutions created from high technological capabilities in the fields of surveying, inspection, monitoring, and logistics.
The company makes full use of in-house development systems, from hardware design to cloud data analysis, providing a “One push solution” that allows on-site people to easily proceed with their work with the touch of a button.