Terra Industries Drone Factory to Become Africa’s Largest
Quick Reads
- Nigeria’s Terra Industries is building a 34,000-square-foot drone factory in Accra, Ghana, called Pax-2.
- The facility will more than double the company’s existing 15,000-square-foot Abuja factory and target 50,000 drone units annually by 2028.
- Terra Industries is Africa’s most-funded defence-tech startup, having raised $34 million across two rounds in 2026.
- The factory will create 120 engineering jobs and produce three drone systems: the Archer VTOL, Iroko UAV, and new Kama interceptor drone.
- Terra’s Pax-2 facility is expected to be fully operational by the end of June 2026.
The Terra Industries drone factory in Ghana represents the company’s most ambitious move yet. Nigeria-based Terra Industries, Africa’s most-funded defence-technology startup, is constructing a 34,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Accra. The company says it will operate the continent’s largest drone factory when it opens.
The plant, named Pax-2, marks a major step up. It more than doubles the footprint of Terra’s flagship 15,000-square-foot factory in Abuja. Furthermore, the company aims to produce 50,000 units annually by 2028. The Ghana location marks Terra’s first manufacturing expansion outside Nigeria, a clear signal of continental ambition.
Terra CEO Nathan Nwachuku said the company selected Ghana for its talent pool and political will to become a serious defence exporter, adding that “the only way Africa can have lasting peace is by uniting to build sovereign defence, not by relying on foreign security architecture.”
The company chose the timing deliberately. Armed groups across the Sahel have rapidly escalated drone warfare. Al-Qaeda affiliates in Mali and Burkina Faso conducted at least 89 drone operations between 2023 and 2025, while Islamic State affiliates struck Niamey International Airport with suicide drones in January 2026. African militaries have struggled to keep pace, particularly in counter-drone defence.
Pax-2 directly addresses that gap. The factory will produce three systems: the Archer VTOL, a long-range surveillance and strike platform; the Iroko UAV for rapid tactical deployment; and Kama, a newly announced interceptor drone capable of reaching 300 kilometres per hour. Terra specifically designed Kama for counter-drone defence, the capability most urgently lacking across the continent.
According to TechCabal’s report on the Accra expansion, the factory will also create 120 engineering jobs in Ghana. Terra has already raised $34 million across two fundraising rounds in 2026: an $11.75 million round led by 8VC and a $22 million follow-on round led by Lux Capital. The company has entered the final phase of construction and expects to begin full operations by June 2026. Whether Terra can convert its funding lead into durable government contracts across the Sahel remains the key question ahead.
