Zipline, the drone company that delivers blood and other essential medical products in Rwanda, is about to expand to the second most populous country in the world, India.
Zipline was created in the USA in 2014, and started its operations in Rwanda in 2016, with one distribution center in Muhanga district; later expanding to two distribution centers, covering the whole country.
The Rwandan government and Zipline pioneered drone delivery worldwide, as a proof of a concept for both drone logistics and drone regulations.
It is in Rwanda that Zipline perfected and optimized its drones and operations, becaming the world’s first and only national-scale drone delivery service to date.
From their distribution centers they supply critical medical products, such as blood and vaccines that were previously out of reach in remote or inaccessible regions, to hospitals and health facilities all over the country.
Many hospitals and clinics now rely on Zipline for lifesaving deliveries every day.
Their rapid response times and ability to deliver even the rarest blood types or any other critical medical product, have helped Rwanda to make massive strides in reducing maternal mortality rates.
From Rwanda, Zipline has since expended to Ghana, where they are building four distribution centers covering the whole country.
And now they are expanding to the Indian state of Maharashtra.
According to India Times, Zipline partnered with the state Government of Maharashtra, and the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, the Serum Institute of India(SII).
They plan to use Zipline’s technology to help transform emergency medicine and critical care in one of India’s most populous states, with 120 million citizens.
Zipline’s drone delivery services will be part of Maharashtra’s vision of using drone delivery to establish universal, seven-days-a-week access to lifesaving and critical medicines for each of its 120 million citizens over the coming years.
Zipline will establish a total of 10 fistribution centers across Maharashtra in phases over the next several years.
