And this time it is Mauritania’s turn to take its inaugural bow into the Global South family of Flying Labs and embarking on what it sees as an exciting journey towards strengthening local innovation in drone and robotics technology.
“Established to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and the country's development priorities, Mauritania Flying Labs joins the global Flying Labs Network with a clear vision to build technical capacity, support innovation, and create sustainable impact through the responsible use of technology,” the newest enterprise said in a statement.
Based in Nouakchott, Mauritania Flying Labs is led by Boubacar Ahmed, a Mauritanian entrepreneur and management professional with more than two decades of experience across diverse sectors, including telecommunications, engineering, mining, renewable energy, logistics, and international development.
Ahmed said his commitment was in promoting the responsible use of drones, geospatial technologies, and innovation to strengthen local capacity.
Working alongside him is head of Operations Sidi Ahmed Gaya, a data scientist and applied mathematics specialist whose expertise in statistical analysis, predictive modelling, geospatial analytics, and artificial intelligence will help drive data-informed solutions for community impact.
Ahmed said he was inspired to join the Flying Labs network after noticing how his country was struggling with significant challenges in environmental management, climate resilience, infrastructure development, natural resource management, and digital transformation
With no immediate locally led initiatives in place – communities have limited access to the technical skills and partnerships needed to fully leverage emerging technologies – Mauritania Flying Labs was created to help close that gap.
“By equipping local stakeholders with practical skills and building strong cross-sector partnerships, they hope to enable solutions designed by Mauritanians, for Mauritania,” it said.
“At the local level, the team will focus on training young professionals, students, and organisations while encouraging community-driven innovation and technology adoption.
“Nationally, they seek to strengthen data-driven decision-making across sectors including environmental management, climate resilience, disaster preparedness, humanitarian action, infrastructure, education, natural resource management, and sustainable development.
“Collaboration will be central to this work, with Mauritania Flying Labs aiming to bring together government institutions, universities, civil society organisations, and private-sector partners around shared development goals.”
The new lab said its first order of business would focus on building a strong ecosystem of partners, practitioners, and local expertise.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, the team said it was planning to:
- Deliver drone and geospatial technology training programmes for students, professionals, and institutions.
- Organise awareness workshops and community outreach activities promoting the responsible use of emerging technologies.
- Build partnerships with universities, government agencies, NGOs, and private-sector organisations.
- Launch pilot projects demonstrating the value of drones and geospatial data for environmental monitoring, infrastructure mapping, climate resilience, and development planning.
- Develop a national network of practitioners and organisations working with drone and geospatial technologies.
“These efforts are grounded in a belief that lasting impact comes from local ownership, practical capacity building, and strong partnerships — a belief shared by the global Flying Labs Network.
“With demand for reliable geospatial data and innovative technology solutions growing across the country, Mauritania Flying Labs is well prepared to help shape a more resilient and data-informed future.”
In its remarks, WeRobotics, the brains behind the Flying Labs network said it was excited to welcome Mauritania Flying Labs into its global community and looked forward to seeing their impact grow.