Mónica Abarca always knew that she wanted to study engineering and still had preferences for technical careers. At school, he took a robotics workshop, and she liked it. She researched more about her career and the prospects, so she decided to study it. After finishing his degree, she participated in a program at Singularity University, where he learned about exponential technologies. After the program, he became involved with the mining industry, education, and academic research.
The qAIRa startup started as a research project to develop a drone that could measure air quality. Mónica Abarca discovered that there was a niche in the mining industry, which is interested in both automating its processes and reducing environmental pollution to avoid fines and social problems.
Since then, qAIRa has diversified as a company. qAIRa drones now also offer environmental monitoring and security. The drones developed by qAIRa measure air quality with sensors and send information in real time. In addition to the drones, qAIRa offers another product called “mobile hangar,” which allows the drone to recharge the battery and automate it completely.
The qAira team, led by Mónica Abarca and integrated by Francisco Cuéllar, Carlos Saito and Javier Calvo-Pérez, won the local Seedstars contest in Lima. This allowed them to participate in the global Seedstar competition in Switzerland in 2017. Although they were not among the twelve finalists, Abarca won the Best Entrepreneur award at the Seedstars Summit.
