Aviation Africa 2025 highlights future of Advanced Air Mobility

As drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) for advanced air mobility are increasingly gaining traction across Africa, this year’s Aviation Africa Summit & Exhibition will shine a spotlight on it.

A strategic partnership with the African Drone Forum (ADF) – Africa’s largest platform for drone professionals, startups, policymakers, and national drone ecosystem leaders – will enhance this year’s summit.

On Day 2, the ADF will host a dedicated symposium at the Insight Theatre within the main exhibition hall. This session will provide detailed analysis and discussions, highlighting the vast opportunities within the drone sector and how Africa’s aviation industry can strategically benefit.

“This is a great addition to the whole Aviation Africa week,” said summit chairman Alan Peaford. “It is also very appropriate that we are in Rwanda where the world first saw Zipline operating medical delivery drones in shared airspace thanks to the forward thinking of the country’s civil aviation authority.

“As more of these activities spread across the continent it is a great opportunity for regulators across the region to meet and share ideas to help keep Africa at the forefront of knowledge of real operations for uncrewed aircraft.”

Several exhibitors from the sector will be taking space at the Aviation Africa event.

The main stage session, ‘Africa’s Low-Altitude Drone Economy: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Investment, and Infrastructure’ moderated by Eno Umoh, co-founder of Global Air U and the Global Air Drone Academy, will feature key manufacturers, financiers, investors, and operators. It will explore topics such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, regulatory approaches by various African Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA’s), and case studies from proof-of-concept drone corridors.

The session will offer a deep dive into ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight’ operations—what’s possible today, what’s holding us back, and how different CAAs are approaching risk, permissions, and proof-of-concept corridors.

Aviation Africa also anticipate potential live demonstrations of eVTOL aircraft at the event.