In a continent where the technology still has a lot of ground to cover, it is heartening to note that stakeholders in the drone industry are working round the clock to ensure that industrial drone operations on the continent are at par with the best in the world.

This is in light of recent revelations by South African Drone Services provider UAV Aerial Works’ director Kim James, one of the most prominent voices on the country’s drone landscape, that her company has been happy to collaborate with fellow drone professionals in the past two weeks in ways that pushed the local drone industry needle a few steps forward.

In the last fortnight Kim has canvassed for opportunities for new pilots seeking employment by distributing their resumes among operators who may be hiring (her takes its heavy share of the work in this regard; taking in interns fresh from drone training schools and giving them practical experiences with the drones).

She also made a payload available to another operator at short notice; engaged the services of two drone professionals in the country on a project, (who agreed to come on board at last minute); had a supplier pulling out all the stops to get stock delivered same day; and also made business referrals between operators.

That is all besides the everyday work she does at UAV Aerial Works and its security drone wing, Drone Guards.

“The last two weeks have been about industry collaboration, and I could not be happier,” she says.

“I have always believed in sharing information, giving, networking and joining forces. In our drone industry, this has been sorely lacking for the longest time.”

And while Kim has been tirelessly running around for the good of drone technology in South Africa, in the hybrid offices of the Global Air Drone Academy (GADA), they are doing everything they can to give start-ups in the industry a sense of business direction.

It was with the same spirit of collaboration and making a contribution towards helping the growth of the drone value chain that GADA recently launched its series of drone business courses geared towards helping up and coming drone entrepreneurs to successfully set up their drone businesses.

The jewel in this crown of eye-opening courses in the Drone Business Masterminds – a twelve-week training programme where participants will earn valuable insights into how to scale up their drone technology passion into a viable business. Conducted online via virtual presentations the course includes subjects like business planning, social media strategy, custom marketing strategy, as well as website and branding techniques.

“Our target audience consists of passionate drone business owners who aspire to build a thriving and profitable business in the drone industry,”

“They have a deep love for drones and want to leverage their skills and expertise to create a successful venture.

However, our target audience faces several common challenges in their journey, which include difficulties in getting consistent clients, ineffective marketing and branding; lack of social media consistency; and time management and scaling.”

It is these deficiencies that the Drone Business Masterminds training programme will address. And we do have to acknowledge that this is a refreshing approach to drone training on the continent. Most training schools offer only pilot training and little else, usually without further training on how the new pilots can use their newly acquired skills by charting their own paths, instead of waiting for somebody to employ them.

Other courses on offer include the Content Creator System for Drone Business Owners, the Drone Business Blueprint 2.0 and drone cinematography/storytelling.

The Global Air Drone Academy is an FAA-licensed drone training, education, and consultation organisation committed to building the next generation of professional drone pilots.

They have previously worked with the American embassies in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe, encouraging and inspiring children and young adults to pursue careers in drone and robotics technology so they can pursue entrepreneurships in the near future.

The organisation also engages regulators, stakeholders, enthusiasts, and private industry to encourage local partnerships that will continue to improve the lives of people all around the globe through the drone industry.

Since 2016, GADA has trained more than 6,000 students in more than 400 schools and organisations, and in eight countries.

Entrepreneurs looking to hone their business skills in drone technology can register for lessons here.