Burooj Enterprises – Drone Technology, the New Frontier in Socioeconomic Empowerment
About Burooj Enterprises Pty
Burooj Enterprises Pty is a company based in South Africa that specialises in delivering engineering management solutions to its clients, ranging from aerospace, mining, construction, and pharmaceuticals. The objective of the RISA Fund project was to understand the potential opportunities for drone and related data services in South Africa and Kenya and the ecosystem drivers preventing small business growth.
How the RISA Fund Grant was Used
Burooj Enterprises Pty undertook a study that mapped out opportunities for drone and data ecosystem for Kenya and South Africa, in order to provide a knowledge and evidence base for how drones can be used in job creation as well as women and youth empowerment.
Robust stakeholder mapping was conducted, this included desktop research, interviews with industry stakeholders and experts, synthesis, evaluations, results summaries, and recommendations.
Top Findings
The study identified ecosystem obstacles in both Kenya and South Africa preventing the growth of drone technologies. Obstacles included the following:
- No cohesive master plan that aligns all ecosystem actors in South Africa.
- Lack of awareness amongst stakeholders, crowding out the possibility of collaboration in South Africa.
- No formal industry body that coordinates and represents the drone industry in Kenya, which if established would enable actors to operate in an informal environment.
- Lack of activities to spur innovation and foster stronger synergies in the two countries.
Recommendations and Next Steps
South Africa
- Creation of a drone awareness application by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and other industry bodies, to increase demand, spur partnerships, and emphasise drone manufacturing as a viable career pathways for women and youth.
- Establish drone technology centres of excellence in higher learning institutions.
- Establish a drone corridor within a special economic zone (SEZ) to boost innovation and partnerships in the drone industry.
Kenya
- The formation of an industry body that reports to the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to bring together all ecosystem players at various levels of the value chain.
- Collaboration between the industy body and tertiary and Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) institutions, to create an incentive for the youth to persue technology and engineering opportunities enabling them to develop transferable skills with which to join the industry.
- Encourage private-public partnerships between industry, civil society, and government.