Terra raises $22m with strong backing from Flutterwave’s Gbenga Agboola, Lux Capital

Nigerian drone startup Terra just raised another $22 million, barely a month after closing an $11.8 million round. This brings the company’s total funding to $34 million and places its valuation above $100 million, which is impressive for a startup that’s only two years old.

Lux Capital, the Silicon Valley firm that recently raised $1.5 billion, led the latest funding round alongside Resilience17 Capital, which is managed by Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola. Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC and Nova Global participated again, and actor Jared Leto also joined the investment. The round closed in under two weeks, indicating strong demand from investors to participate.

Terra manufactures autonomous security gear, drones, sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles, and sells them to governments and companies that protect infrastructure across Africa. The company states that its equipment currently secures assets worth approximately $11 billion.

Exceeded expectations: $34 million raised against a $5 million target

CEO Nathan Nwachukwu, who’s 22, says the company planned to raise around $5 million initially. Instead, the startup is sitting on $34 million after two quick funding rounds.

“The funding far exceeded expectations,” he said, adding that Terra is landing major government and military contracts and needs to scale manufacturing quickly.

What makes this round interesting is GB’s involvement. Nigerian tech founders have mostly stuck to software and fintech investments. But here’s the Flutterwave CEO backing a hardware company building drones for defence and security, sectors that haven’t traditionally attracted much African capital. It signals that investors are starting to take African defence tech seriously.

Also read: African defence startup Terra Industries raises $11.75m to build homegrown security tech

Co-founded by Nwachukwu and Maxwell Maduka, 24, Terra was established in Abuja in 2024 and has grown rapidly. The company already has paying customers in several African countries and is now expanding aggressively.

Scaling up production

Terra wants to use the money to expand its Abuja factory to produce 40,000 drones annually. The company also plans to break ground on a much larger facility soon, though it hasn’t said where yet.

But Terra isn’t keeping production in Nigeria alone. Last week, the startup announced a partnership with AIC Steel, a Saudi industrial giant, to build a joint factory in Saudi Arabia. This marks Terra’s first manufacturing initiative outside of Africa and allows them to reach Middle Eastern buyers, while still prioritising their core focus on African markets.

The Saudi deal makes sense strategically. Terra gets access to better manufacturing infrastructure and new customers, while still serving the African governments and companies that need its products most.

Infrastructure security is a massive problem across the continent. Power plants are sabotaged, mining sites are targeted by thieves, and remote facilities struggle with security. Autonomous systems are cheaper and more scalable than hiring guards, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

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