Ondas Holdings, the parent company of drone nest service providers, Airobotics and American robotics has announced the signing of a memorandum of Understanding with a Moroccan company, which could see commercial drones being manufactured on a global scale for the first time in Africa.

The American company, a provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions, said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Moroccan technology company Maghrebnet, which will see the Ondas take initial steps into the Moroccan and wider North African commercial drone market.

Maghrebnet specialises in security, networks, telecommunications, electricity, and renewable energy services, and Ondas hopes to leverage on the company’s influence to offer drone services for the security of cities, industrial, and strategic facilities in the region.

“Morocco is demonstrating strong leadership within Africa with a focus on technological development, particularly in the aeronautics sector,” said Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas.

“We believe that together with Maghrebnet, Ondas’ Optimus System will provide value as an infrastructure solution for aerial data capture in governmental and commercial applications.”

As part of the MOU, Ondas and Maghrebnet have agreed to jointly explore a multi-faceted business partnership, which will see Maghrebnet introducing Ondas’ systems to potential customers in the region and handling the manufacturing and sales of Ondas’ automated Optimus Drone-In a-Box systems in Morocco and Senegal.

If this sees the light of day, it will be the first time that a drone company of world-class renown such as Ondas, has set up proper commercial drone manufacturing structures on the African continent.

Based on future growth, the companies have said they will also work towards achieving cost-effective manufacturing of docking stations and establishing a joint Research and Development Centre in Morocco.

The centre aims at enhancing existing products, developing new features, and exploring innovative solutions, actively participating in local bid competitions for projects, and serving as a hub for talent acquisition, development, and management within the local market.

The parties will jointly recruit, train, and manage a skilled workforce to support the operations of the centre and contribute to the success of various initiatives.

“Maghrebnet has forged a strategic partnership with Ondas, specialising in the production and operation of autonomous Unmanned Aircraft (UA) systems and solutions to expand our portfolio of security-related services,” said El-Mekki Benamar, Maghrebnet’s Chief Information Officer.

“We see many applications for Ondas’ Optimus System within government, industrial, and commercial sectors, which can benefit from seamless automated data collection and analysis, alongside a suite of other unmanned aerial services.

“These operations run around the clock, devoid of human intervention, expertly meeting the demands of the most intricate environments across the globe. Furthermore, both Maghrebnet and Ondas are also exploring the feasibility of producing the docking station component of the UAs in Morocco with a focus on cost-effectiveness.”

Research company Mordor Intelligence estimates the value of the commercial drone market in the Middle East and Africa to stand at $3.5 billion in 2023, with further estimations to grow at a CAGR of 8.14 percent to $4.94 billion by 2028.

Meir Kliner, President of Ondas Autonomous Systems said; “We look forward to expanding our business to Morocco and North Africa, offering our trusted autonomous drones to local entities. We believe that together with Maghrebnet, we will create new business opportunities in this important growing market.”

Ondas is the parent company of commercial drone solutions providers American Robotics, Inc and Airobotics Ltd, which operate as a separate business unit called Ondas Autonomous Systems.

With a foothold in the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East, Ondas Autonomous Systems’ AI-powered drone systems are capable of continuous, remote operation, which they offer as a drone-in-a-box package.

The drones are deployed for critical industrial and government applications where data and information collection and processing are required.

The company serves clients in oil and gas, rail, mining, agriculture, public safety and other critical infrastructure and government markets.