Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
Terra Industries, the Nigerian defence technology startup, is set to open the continent’s largest drone manufacturing facility in Accra, Ghana. The announcement follows Terra’s $34 million fundraise, which is being used to scale manufacturing capacity, accelerate deployments, and grow its engineering teams across Nigeria and allied African countries.
Called Pax-2, the 34,000-square-foot facility will be Terra’s second manufacturing facility and serve as its primary regional defence manufacturing base for drone and counter-drone systems. The new manufacturing facility follows the 15,000-square-foot Pax-1 flagship facility in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Ghana plant being announced today is more than double that size, and once fully operational, it will be the largest drone factory on the continent. The startup notes that the construction is currently in its final phase and is expected to be fully operational by the end of June 2026.
With its Pax-2 manufacturing facility, the company aims to reach an annual production capacity of 50,000 units across its aerial systems portfolio by 2028. The facility will also be used to manufacture Archer VTOL, a long-range surveillance and strike platform; the Iroko UAV, built for rapid tactical deployment; and Kama, a new high-speed interceptor drone capable of speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour.
In a press release, Terra claims Kama is engineered for high-volume production to address the growing need for kinetic interception capabilities. The Ghana facility will also create 120 engineering jobs and operate on a continuous production schedule to meet rising demand for these systems across the region.
Founded in 2024, Terra Industries is a multi-domain systems and data intelligence company developing integrated land, air, and maritime systems. The company serves clients across critical sectors, including border security, counterterrorism, energy, and maritime infrastructure.
Terra’s expansion into Ghana comes amidst a shift in modern conflict across the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa, where non-state actors are increasingly deploying modified commercial and fibre-optic drones as attack systems. These tactics are also being deployed in recent conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, accelerating demand for integrated defence systems that combine surveillance, electronic warfare, and kinetic response.
“The only way Africa can have lasting peace is by uniting to build sovereign defence, not by relying on foreign security architecture. We need to control our own destiny by building the tools and systems needed to protect ourselves. That’s how this continent defeats terrorism,” said Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries.
He added, “This is the beginning of that vision playing out more concretely, and we chose Ghana for Pax-2 because of its talent, strategic position, and political will to become a serious defence exporter and prove that this can be done at scale.”
For Terra Industries, Pax-2 is not just a factory but a long-term vision for Africa’s defence sovereignty. The company envisions a network of Pax factories that helps Africa build, deploy and control its own defence technology. For a startup that is barely two years old, the ambition is considerable, but defence technology startups have been accelerating at historic rates to meet demand.
The increased global and geopolitical tensions have fueled investment while demand for AI, autonomous systems and software-defined capabilities remains strong in 2026. With a growing product portfolio, a fresh funding round, and a continent-sized market, Terra Industries is moving fast to make good on its vision.
