Rwandan drone startup Charis UAS is monitoring assets worth more than US$1 billion through its proprietary platform, and also doing its bit to tackle malaria.
Using drones, Charis UAS provides high quality, accurate, near-real time 3D representation of physical assets – giving people complete visibility, control and management to their sites.
“We primarily focus on agricultural, health, environmental and infrastructure across the private and public sector. To digitally connect our clients with their physical assets, we use a proprietary platform – Charis Analytics – artificial intelligence and drone technology,” Eric Rutayisire, CEO and co-founder of Charis UAS, told Disrupt Africa.
Charis Analytics, which is used across four continents, monitors assets worth more than US$1 billion, ranging from large infrastructure projects such as stadiums, airports and skyscrapers to solar energy power plants, farms, plantations, forest and wetlands. Aside from commercial benefits, the startup is having environmental and health impacts too.
“Due to our technology, over 15,000 hectares of wetlands have been restored as a result,” said Rutayisire. “Our platform has also been used to mitigate malaria with the detection of mosquito breeding. We are observing a 90 per cent reduction in malaria cases where our technology has been used in Rwanda and the Ivory Coast.”
The Charis UAS platform can collect, interpret and store data, and provide online visualisations.
“As a result, our clients can simplify their data, improve their data security, detect cost savings and make better informed decisions on their physical assets,” Rutayisire said.
“We understand managing sites and physical assets can be difficult, stressful and anxiety-inducing. The lack of access to accurate, near real-time, and simple 3D-representation of physical assets reinforces the problem. We identified a problem and a market opportunity to help people manage their physical assets.”
Initially, Charis UAS was self-funded, but it has since raised private capital from various firms and individuals. It also received grant capital from Google’s Black Founders Fund, and is now active across Africa, in eight markets, as well as North America, Australia, and Europe.
“We have two main offices in Rwanda and the Ivory Coast. We are focusing on increasing our global presence and have ambitions to enter new markets,” said Rutayisire.
Charis UAS has a subscription-based model whereby clients access their data and project-based revenue, and Rutayisire said it is now profitable. Getting to this point has not been without its challenges, however.
“Adopting new technology and drones wasn’t easy, and customers also needed to understand the technology, and realise the upside to adoption,” he said. “But our perseverance has been rewarded, and we are delighted with our progress.”
