Last year, TechCity published a piece on ecommerce company, Yudala’s claim that it had successfully carried out Nigeria’s first drone delivery. The feat was characterized with so many loopholes and was best described as a publicity stunt that misled Nigeria’s tech media. Few weeks ago, we reached out to the Yudala team for an update on the current status of the drone delivery initiative which coincidentally became unpopular after TechCity‘s piece on it went viral.
According to Afam Anyika, Marketing Manager at Yudala, the decision to venture into drone delivery was seen by the company as a bold new initiative which would go a long way in expanding the frontiers of innovations in the Nigerian and African e-commerce sector.
“By incorporating drone deliveries into our logistics value-chain, we were living up to the revolution we had promised at inception of the brand and raising the bar higher in the conduct of e-commerce in the country and beyond,” he told TechCity.
According to Anyika, despite pessimism and condemnations the drone project attracted, it was still the first ever drone delivery in the e-commerce world as other such instances were government-sponsored projects and not targeted at product deliveries to shoppers.
Is Nigeria ready for drones?
The Yudala rep believe that stakeholders can only say whether its ready for drone delivery or not if barriers are pushed.
He said: “Truth is, most innovations and inventions were not products of serendipity but outcomes of carefully planned and rigorous, often cerebral, processes. This was the case with our drone delivery. During the planning stage, we had encountered doubts as to the state of readiness of the country, especially from an infrastructural and regulatory stand-point. Many were of the opinion that the technology was way too advanced and ahead of the times here.
“But we were determined to make a global statement: that indeed Nigeria can take the lead in the area of pioneering interventions in the e-commerce world. Going by the overwhelmingly positive reception to the drone delivery, I must state that Nigeria is indeed ripe for such an initiative. However, government must do its bit in easing the path through a clear policy statement or regulation on their use.”
Read more: Nigerian govt moves to regulate drone deployment
Even though the Yudala team went on an uncharted territory with its drone initiative, Anyika said the team was excited about it even though there were episodes of self-doubts.
“It was an exciting project which tasked the creative energies of all the members of the team. The only challenge we had was the usual self-doubt that creeps in at the last minute, especially in those surreal moments when we counted down to the first drone’s take-off. However, all the tensions vanished when the device successfully took off and effortlessly glided all the way to its destination, bearing the product for delivery to the customer,” he told TechCity.
Current status
Little has been heard in recent times about the drone program making many to wonder if it had been suspended but Anyika said the initiative is very much alive and they are working with technical partners in Asia and Europe to expand the capacities of the drones. They are also working on authorities in order to obtain necessary approvals.
“We have made a few more short-distance deliveries as part of our test-runs of the drones. Presently, we are working with some of our technical partners in Asia and Europe to expand the carrying capacities of these devices, while also liaising with the local regulatory authorities on the modalities before full implementation,” he said.
He added that the big picture for the drone initiative from Yudala’s perspective can best be captured by the Yudala vision which goes thus: To drive a positive cultural revolution through trade and commerce.
“This is the motivation behind most of our pioneering and value-adding efforts,” Anyika concluded.