Drones to Improve Malawi's Economy
ADDA graduate Alexander Mtambo shares his passion about youth skilling
As a young student, Alexander Mtambo was passionate about technology. Graduating with honours in Electronics and Computer Engineering from the University of Malawi, he gained practical experience working with Telkom Networks Malawi Limited in the Radio Access Network department. Working with the team that installed 4G networks in more than ten districts across Malawi, he had early experience in technology infrastructure and digital connectivity.
Both entrepreneurial and talented, Alexander joined the African Drone and Data Academy to explore using drones to improve Malawi's economy. Initially curious about the application of drone technologies in agriculture which accounts for a significant portion of Malawi's gross domestic product, he explored how imaging and land mapping might boost agricultural yield through optimized operations.
Alexander was recruited as one of the ADDA's first set of national instructors. As an educator, he worked with colleagues to teach a specialized curriculum designed by Virginia Tech University that delivered practical and theoretical courses in creating, testing, and flying drones to over 370 students. Alexander's work at the ADDA had a noticeable impact on the lives of other passionate young students in Malawi and more than twenty countries across the African continent. With graduates going on to design their own research projects to solve problems faced by rural populations, he's been at the forefront of drone innovation.
Alexander has shared that he's incredibly passionate about inspiring and influencing the youth of Africa to acquire the technological and entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to prosper.
"Through the training that we provide at the ADDA, the youth gain job-specific skills which are currently scarce but critical in Africa. We help them become innovators who can launch their own drone and data companies and prepare them to fill jobs that foreigners would otherwise do," adds Alexander. "Being a national instructor at the ADDA means I'm positively affecting the youth throughout Africa and leaving a technological and economic footprint."
Alexander can be found working with GLOBHE, an international drone company that centralizes health, energy, environmental and infrastructure data. As the Head of Drones for the African division, he's busy bringing 21st-century skills and data to communities across his home continent.
