inSupply Participates in the Lake Victoria Challenge

The Lake Victoria Challenge trial event attracted around 200 global and local stakeholdes to Mwanza, Tanzania in late 2018 to propel the use of drones and other aerial technologies for positive economic and social impact. Among the participants were six drone manufacturers – FlyPulse, Wingtra, Wingcopter, Rigitech, Siniger, and Zipline – and four unstaffed aerial vehicle traffic management manufacturers, including Exponent, Airmap, Unifly, and Involi.

Tanzania Deputy Minister for Works, Transport and Communication Eng. Atashasta Nditiye opened the event followed by a welcome address from Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Burundi, and Somalia, and Hamza Johari, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. After the robust three-day event, Mwanza Regional Commissioner John Mongella brought the symposium to a close.

“There is a need for us to leapfrog for the economic development of our country. This is why the government supports this innovation,” said Deputy Minister Nditiye.

During the first day’s plenary session, JSI’s regional partners from inSupply presented challenges and opportunities for the use of autonomous aerial vehicles for medical commodities drawing from a published white paper and accompanying analytical tool. Over the coming months, inSupply will continue to disseminate the analytical tool to collect feedback and inputs during the testing period.