Nigerian defense technology startup Terra Industries has appointed Ben MacWilliams as its new Vice President of Strategy. MacWilliams previously worked at SpaceX, where he served as Director of Starlink Market Access.
At SpaceX, MacWilliams oversaw all 54 African markets. During his time there, he helped launch commercial satellite broadband services in more than 20 countries. To do this, he worked directly with heads of state, telecom regulators, and government ministers. Before his African role, he led market access strategy for the Middle East and Central Eurasia. There, he secured the first-ever low Earth orbit broadband licenses in both regions.
Now at Terra, MacWilliams will lead the company’s global expansion. His job will involve managing regulatory landscapes, licensing frameworks, and government partnerships. Specifically, he will help deploy Terra’s autonomous defense systems to countries across the Global South.
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Terra co-founder and CEO Nathan Nwachuku called the hire central to the company’s next chapter. According to Nwachuku, scaling to dozens of government markets at once requires exactly the kind of experience MacWilliams built at SpaceX. MacWilliams, in turn, said the mission drew him in. After years spent growing Starlink across Africa, he said he understands why sovereign defense capability matters to the continent.
This appointment comes at a key moment for Terra. Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka founded the company in Abuja in 2024. Both are still in their early twenties. Terra builds autonomous defense infrastructure, including drones, interceptor drones, sentry towers, and unmanned ground vehicles. Its proprietary software, ArtemisOS, coordinates all of these systems. The company positions itself as a homegrown alternative to Western and Chinese-built security systems. Its goal is to protect infrastructure like mines, power plants, and transport corridors. These assets lose billions of dollars each year to sabotage and militant attacks.
Terra has moved quickly this year. This month, the company closed a $52 million seed round. That followed two earlier raises: $11.75 million in January and $22 million in February. Backers include Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, Lux Capital, Silent Ventures, and Nova Global. Terra says it is on track to book $100 million in contracts. It also expects to generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue by year’s end. Beyond funding, the company has opened its first office outside Africa in London. It is also building a new manufacturing facility in Ghana, set to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.
MacWilliams brings deep regulatory and government relations experience to Terra. This suggests the company is preparing for its next growth phase. That phase will depend less on engineering and more on navigating licensing and diplomacy. Ultimately, Terra must manage this complexity across dozens of sovereign states at once.
