After recently closing a $22 million round and, earlier, an $11.8 million round, Terra, the West African autonomous security company, has now completed a new milestone. This morning the company announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), the military-run manufacturer tasked with producing arms and equipment locally.
Together, they plan to set up a joint venture company that will operate as a DICON subsidiary, focused on assembling, researching, and developing high-technology systems in Nigeria.
According to details shared by Terra, the company will support “local production, assembly, research and development (R&D), and training in high-technology systems, including drones, cybersecurity solutions, robotics, and other ancillary software and hardware platforms.”
Maj. Gen. B.I. Alaya, Director General of DICON, called the agreement “a transformational step toward strengthening Nigeria’s defence manufacturing base, reducing import dependence, and positioning Nigeria as a regional hub for advanced innovation."
His emphasis on import dependence reflects a broader industry reality: many African countries still source critical defence systems from Europe, Asia or the United States, often at high cost and with limited technology transfer.
For Terra’s CEO, Nathaniel Nwachukwu, the deal is also symbolic. He said it “demonstrates confidence in indigenous Nigerian engineering capability and creates a platform for sustainable defence technology development, innovation, and export competitiveness."
The startup will provide technical expertise, training programmes, and help attract capital, while integrating supply-chain relationships and manufacturing know-how into the new entity.
This fits into DICON’s broader strategy under the DICON Act 2023, which expanded its ability to form public-private partnerships. In recent months, the corporation has pursued other technical alliances to modernise its production capacity.
Founded in 2024 by Nwachuku, 22, and Maxwell Maduka, 24, in Abuja, Terra builds drones, autonomous sentry towers, unmanned ground vehicles and other security technology that it plans to market primarily in Africa.
Terra technology is powered by ArtemisOS, its proprietary software platform, which it says “enables real-time threat detection, autonomous mission planning, and coordinated response across vast and difficult environments where traditional security models struggle to operate and scale.”
Details such as capital commitments and production timelines remain undisclosed.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
