The Government of Rwanda has signed an expansion agreement with Zipline, following Zipline’s recent USD 150M pay-for-performance award from the US Department of State. Rwanda was the first country in the world to launch Zipline’s autonomous delivery service in 2016, and will now become the first country with full nationwide autonomous logistics coverage.
Rwanda will introduce Zipline’s urban delivery system, Platform 2 (P2), suitable for dense urban environments such as Kigali, where approximately 40 percent of the country’s healthcare demand is concentrated. P2 is currently used to deliver 100,000 retail and food items in the United States.
Rwanda will also add a new long-range distribution centre in Karongi District, complementing Zipline’s existing hubs in Muhanga and Kayonza. This third site will expand delivery capacity to districts beyond the Nyungwe Forest, including those bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The new hub is built on the border between Rwanda and the DRC. Within Rwanda, the Karongi hub is expected to serve approximately 200 health posts and 60 health facilities, reaching more than 2.9 million people.
The US government will provide upfront infrastructure funding to Zipline to enable the scale-up and the government of Rwanda has committed to paying for ongoing operations.
Zipline will also establish a new AI and robotics testing facility in Rwanda to support the expansion. The facility will test aircraft performance, new safety systems and next-generation logistics software.
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