The German international development agency known as GIZ is hosting ten remote sensing and unmanned logistics startups from Africa for an evening networking event in Berlin, Germany.

The event gathers professionals from the German aerospace sector to discuss remote sensing and unmanned logistics in the context of development cooperation. Participants at the event will explore use cases of remote sensing and unmanned logistics technologies across various sectors, as well as possible ways of surmounting challenges in the fields of food security, health care, climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, logistics and infrastructure, urbanisation, transportation and energy transition.

The highlight of the event will be the celebration of the final phase of the #Africa4Future joint accelerator organised by Airbus BizLab and the GIZ Tech Entrepreneurship Initiative Make-IT in Africa, together with the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Africa (an entrepreneurial training programme, seed fund and Pan-African incubator), and Innocircle, a South Africa-based innovation consultancy.

Since January, the startups have participated in an intensive mentorship and business acceleration programme, including bootcamps held in Kenya, France, Germany and South Africa. The programme is coming to an end this month following a series of networking events in Berlin and at the biennial Paris Air Show from 17 to 23 June.

The 10 startups were selected from 314 entries across 19 African countries in the second season of the #Africa4Future Challenge when it opened for entries last October. They focus on the application of aerospace-related solutions, including automation, drones, artificial intelligence and data analytics in addressing serious challenges in various parts of the continent, such as healthcare, water management, food security, agriculture, environmental monitoring, land use and the development of smart cities and villages.

Today in Berlin, as part of the closing Demo Day events, the startups will join experts and development partners from the German aerospace sector to discuss new opportunities and potential applications of remote sensing, drones and aerospace technologies.