When drone technology gained cult popularity with a small racing community in Harare, Zimbabwe around 2016, Diana Banda was of the pioneer drone racers to don the goggles and get her hands on the flight controls.

Now the Communications Director at drone solutions provider Zimbabwe Flying Labs, Diana is one of the very, very few women in the country who chose a left field career in drone technology.

She does feel a bit lonely.

In this latest series on Trailblazing Women interview with Louise Jupp on Women and Drones, Diana chronicles her life as a drone professional in Zimbabwe, where the country is at right now in terms of drone infrastructure, and what it has to do to make lasting progress in the industry.

Zimbabwe has been in the economic doldrums for more than two decades now, with a combination of political instability, international alienation and a crumpling social infrastructure making it difficult for enterprise technology to prosper. But Diana highlights where the opportunities lie with drone technology, which she laments has not had the market penetration and adoption it fully deserves.

But she and her colleagues at Zimbabwe Flying Labs are working hard to change that.

She is also calling for more women to get involved.

It is a really great interview, and we hope you enjoy it like we did.