In a 2,000-square-metre facility in Nsukka, Enugu State, engineers work on drone airframes, control systems and battery modules. Their work is part of a difficult proposition; that a Nigerian technology company can do more than develop software or distribute imported equipment. It can design and manufacture sophisticated hardware locally.
The company behind that effort is Arone Technologies, founded in 2018 by Emmanuel Ezenwere, an artificial intelligence engineer. Its work spans drones, modular solar-energy systems and AI-powered surveillance technology.
In February 2026, TechCabal reported that Arone had entered a ₦12.95 billion partnership with the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, to establish a technology manufacturing plant focused on areas including aerospace, robotics, artificial intelligence and renewable energy.
The partnership is significant, but it is not the same as Arone raising ₦12.95 billion in startup funding. It is a broader industrial arrangement involving the company and the institution.
For Ezenwere, the opportunity is to prove that a technology business founded in South-East Nigeria can contribute to the country’s productive capacity, rather than remain limited to importing and reselling finished products.
From Healthcare Delivery to Hardware Manufacturing
Arone began with a practical problem of getting medical supplies to healthcare facilities that are difficult to reach by road. Rural communities often face logistical challenges when essential supplies must travel from central storage facilities to clinics. Drones offered a possible alternative, particularly where long journeys and poor road infrastructure could delay delivery.
That ambition shaped Arone’s early direction. In an interview with Oxford Business Group, Ezenwere discussed how drones could help transport medical supplies, including vaccines, to healthcare centres and reduce delivery times in areas where road journeys are lengthy.
The company started in 2018 with a ₦3 million grant from Roar Nigeria, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s technology hub, alongside a $5,000 angel investment, according to TechCabal. It later raised a $100,000 seed round from Energia Ventures and AfriClim Accelerator, as well as investments from angel investors.
These early sources of capital helped the company pursue a technically demanding business. Unlike a digital product that can be updated and distributed online, a drone must function in the physical world. Its components must work together, its control systems must perform reliably, and its design must account for operational safety.
The healthcare-delivery ambition also exposed a wider opportunity: developing the underlying technology locally could have applications beyond one delivery problem. Arone subsequently expanded into security applications and modular solar-energy systems. Its current portfolio includes Aurora, its drone platform; Luminar, its energy systems; and QView AI, its artificial-intelligence monitoring platform.
The shift illustrates how solving one problem can lead a technology company towards related markets, provided the business develops capabilities that can serve them.
The Cost of Building Something Physical
Hardware entrepreneurship presents a different set of challenges from building many software businesses. A software startup can often test an early version of its product with relatively little physical infrastructure. A hardware company must also account for components, fabrication, assembly, testing, repairs and the possibility that a prototype will fail.
Arone experienced that risk when an early drone crash wiped out capital, as reported by TechCabal. The setback illustrates the financial exposure involved in developing technology that must operate reliably outside a computer screen.
The challenge is not limited to money. Ezenwere has described difficulties across the manufacturing chain, including talent, materials, capital and market readiness.
Arone has responded by developing more of its technology in-house. According to the company’s reporting to TechCabal, it designs and builds its drone airframes locally, develops its control systems and software internally, and owns its AI models. Motors and batteries, however, are still sourced externally. Local manufacturing does not necessarily mean every component originates in Nigeria. It can involve domestic design, engineering, assembly and software development alongside imported parts.
A Partnership That Changed the Scale
The partnership between Arone and IMT Enugu marks a move towards expanding manufacturing capacity and connecting industrial production with technical education.
Announced in February 2026, the ₦12.95 billion agreement covers a four-year plan to establish a technology manufacturing plant at IMT. The proposed areas of production include defense technology, aerospace, robotics, AI and renewable energy.
Under the arrangement described by TechCabal, Arone is expected to contribute intellectual property and product designs, while IMT provides funding and infrastructure. The partnership also includes plans to train students and develop practical engineering capabilities.
The educational component addresses a problem that extends beyond one company. Engineering graduates need opportunities to apply their training to real products and manufacturing processes. Without access to suitable facilities and practical experience, some may move into other areas of technology where entry-level opportunities are more accessible.
By linking production with training, the partnership aims to give students exposure to the work involved in developing and manufacturing hardware. The scale of the announced project is promising, but its long-term significance will depend on implementation. Planned production volumes, training targets and the establishment of facilities are not the same as completed output or demonstrated economic impact.
The partnership therefore represents an important step in Arone’s ambitions, rather than proof that Nigeria’s hardware-manufacturing challenges have been solved.
What South-East Founders Can Learn From Ezenwere’s Journey
Arone’s experience offers practical lessons for builders who want to create technology businesses beyond conventional software products.
- Start with a problem, not just a technology.
Arone’s initial focus on healthcare delivery gave its drone development a clear purpose. Founders exploring AI, robotics or other emerging technologies should identify the problem their product is intended to solve and the people who need that solution.
- Prepare for the real cost of experimentation.
A failed prototype can consume money, time and materials. Hardware founders should account for testing, maintenance and possible failure when planning budgets, rather than treating the first working prototype as the end of development.
- Build capabilities that reduce unnecessary dependence.
Arone’s local airframe design and in-house software development show how a company can retain important technical capabilities even when some components must be imported. Founders should identify which parts of their product are strategically important to develop and control themselves.
- Treat partnerships as a way to access infrastructure and expertise.
The IMT agreement brings a technology company and an educational institution together around manufacturing and training. For other founders, the broader lesson is to look beyond conventional investors when seeking access to laboratories, equipment, technical talent or production facilities. Any partnership, however, needs clear responsibilities and realistic delivery targets.
- Measure progress by what works, not only by the size of an announcement.
A large partnership attracts attention, but a business must still deliver products, satisfy customers, manage costs and sustain operations. Founders should track evidence of performance alongside funding, contracts and expansion plans.
Arone Technologies’ story is still unfolding. Its manufacturing ambitions depend on how effectively it executes the IMT partnership, develops its products and builds a sustainable market for locally engineered systems. Its progress nevertheless points to an area of technology entrepreneurship that deserves attention in South-East Nigeria: building the physical systems that power industries, support security, improve energy access and create opportunities for engineers.
For young builders, Ezenwere’s journey broadens the idea of what a technology startup can be. Innovation does not have to stop at an application or a website. It can extend into the design, testing and manufacture of the machines and infrastructure that businesses and communities rely on.
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