Hardcore aerial pilots will soon have another competitor in the sky as commercial and hobby drone use become increasingly popular.
In neighboring South Africa, the drone industry is set to generate over R6bn and create 34.5k jobs, according to findings gathered from a survey of members of the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of Southern Africa (CUAASA).
SkyTech Drones is the first commercial startup in Botswana to provide services never before offered in the country.
Drones are autonomous aircrafts which allow the user to carry out a range of aerospace programs such as monitoring and land surveillance.
SkyTech Drones takes it one step further by flying a camera-equipped drone to provide services to its customers including live video capturing of aerial shots for any type of event such as weddings, farm events or corporate functions.
If you’re thinking about starting your own drone-based startup, the process couldn’t be easier. All you need is:
- to register as an operator with Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB),
- and operations certificate.
- a clearance certificate
- a drone equipped with your device e.g. camera, sensor, etc
Anyone without permission from CAAB who flies a drone without proper registration could face civil penalties and criminal charges.
In Botswana, we’ve yet to hear of police reports involving drones. In other countries such as the U.S and UK, drones are increasingly being used for drug-smuggling, spying and to plan house robberies.
As long as you don’t plan to fly your drone near military facilities you should be good to go.
