What LONO does

LONO is a Côte d'Ivoire-based clean technology company founded in 2016 in Yamoussoukro that develops and deploys waste-to-value solutions for organic biomass in West Africa. Its core product platform is the KubeKo system — a containerized, autonomous biodigester that converts organic waste into compost in roughly four weeks (rated at 400 kg of waste producing 150 kg of compost per month) or, in the KubeKo Biogas variant, into cooking gas plus liquid compost. Supporting offerings include compost-based fertilizers, bio-pesticides, biochar (including Cashew Shell Cake for projects above 100 tons/year), and technical assistance for industrial-scale biomass projects.

The company operates three revenue streams: hardware sales (KubeKo units, compost, bio-pesticides, biochar), technical consulting (impact studies, feasibility studies, and project design for renewable energy, biomass, biofuels, and agricultural development), and project development and partnership facilitation (connecting waste producers, investors, and end-users of compost/energy/green chemicals). Customer segments span smallholder farmers and agricultural cooperatives, agro-industrial processors (cassava, palm oil, banana), and government/NGO development programs. Distribution is sales-led and direct, with on-site installation and consulting delivered from a single-country domestic footprint.

LONO has built a partnership stack spanning IntES Côte d'Ivoire (industrial biomass co-development), Nitidae (development-finance funding for cooperative projects), and INP-HB (feedstock R&D), supported by a 7-person multi-lingual team of engineers, agronomists, and operations staff. Recognition includes Top 12 at VivaTech 2018, Total Startupper of the Year Côte d'Ivoire (2019), second prize at EDF Pulse Africa (2019), the FCIAD Soil Fertility Prize (2019), the CGECI BPC Innovation Prize, and participation in the World Bank's accelerator program (2019). Pricing is custom quote-based, not publicly disclosed, and no funding rounds or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

LONO

Legal name

LONO

Website

https://lonoci.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LONO is a Côte d'Ivoire clean-tech company, founded in 2016 in Yamoussoukro, that designs and deploys waste-to-value systems — notably the KubeKo biodigester — converting organic waste into compost, biogas, and biochar for farmers, agricultural cooperatives, and agro-industries across West Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste-to-Value Systems

NAICS

Compost Manufacturing (325315), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Compost & Soil Amendment Product Manufacturing/Blending (Value-Added Organics) (BPALAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) & Biogas/RNG Production (Organics Feedstocks) (BPALAEAC), Organics Facility Development & Operations Services (Design/Build, O&M, Permitting) (EUAIAEAJ), Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI)

Keywords

• Waste-to-energy systems
• Organic waste valorization
• Biodigester manufacturing
• Agricultural waste processing
• Biochar production

Headquarters

HQ city

Yamoussoukro

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Sale of standardized products including KubeKo compost systems, containerised biodigesters, compost-based fertilizers, bio-pesticides, and biochar. Products are sold as standalone items or integrated systems for on-site installation.
2. Consulting & Advisory Services: Technical consulting services including impact studies, feasibility studies, and project design for renewable energy, biomass, biofuels, agriculture and development impact sectors.
3. Project Development & Partnerships: Connecting waste producers, investors, and beneficiaries of compost, energy or green chemicals to promote sustainable projects. May involve facilitation fees or equity stakes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

LONO designs, manufactures and installs the KubeKo line of modular waste-to-value systems that convert organic waste into compost (KubeKo Compost) and cooking gas plus liquid compost (KubeKo Biogas). The company also sells complementary bio-products (compost-based fertilisers, bio-pesticides and biochar) and provides technical consulting, feasibility studies and project-development services to farmers, agro-industries, cooperatives and government/NGO clients in West Africa.

Product overview

LONO offers a product portfolio centered on the KubeKo system, an autonomous waste processing unit that converts organic waste into compost or biogas. The product line includes KubeKo Compost (containerized biodigester producing 150 kg compost/month from 400 kg waste) and KubeKo Biogas (converting liquid and solid waste into cooking gas and liquid compost). Supporting products include compost-based fertilizers, bio-pesticides, and biochar derived from agricultural waste. The company also provides consulting services including impact studies, feasibility studies, and funding/partnership facilitation for waste valorization projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KubeKo: An autonomous system that transforms organic waste into compost or cooking gas. Available as KubeKo Compost (transforms waste into compost in 4 weeks) and KubeKo Biogas (transforms organic waste into cooking gas and liquid compost).
• BIOYAM

Products and services

• KubeKo Compost Containerised biodigester system that transforms organic waste into compost in 4 weeks, processing 400 kg of waste into 150 kg of compost per month. Designed for homes, plantations, processing sites, or gardens.
• KubeKo Biogas Autonomous system that transforms liquid and solid organic waste into cooking gas and liquid compost, deployed at homes, plantations, processing sites or gardens.
• Compost-based Fertilizer Agricultural inputs produced using natural byproducts that improve soil fertility, yields, and plant resilience; sold separately from KubeKo units.
• Bio-pesticides Natural pesticides that protect crops, produced from biological byproducts of the KubeKo process.
• Biochar (Cashew Shell Cake) Carbon-rich product produced by heating biomass in absence of oxygen, marketed as an input material for agriculture and industry.
• Technical Consulting and Project Development Services Technical consulting, feasibility studies, impact studies, and project design/development for industrial biomass, renewable energy, and agricultural waste valorization projects; provided to agro-industries, companies, governments, and NGOs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 kg of organic waste produces 150 kg of compost per month
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IntES Côte d'IvoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLONO, in partnership with IntES Côte d'Ivoire, provides technical expertise on the lifecycle from early design to plant commissioning for industrial biomass projects. This partnership enables LONO to offer comprehensive project development services for industrial organic waste processing.
• INP-HB (Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLONO collaborates closely with the polytechnic university of Yamoussoukro to study and test opportunities for biofuel production. Research focuses on different types of locally available feedstock to explore best waste-to-energy solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sistema.bio: Mexico- and Kenya-based social enterprise manufacturing prefabricated biodigesters for smallholder farmers in emerging markets. Closest direct peer to LONO — same product category (containerized biodigester), same customer base (smallholders and agro-industries), same waste-to-biogas/compost value proposition, but operating at significantly greater scale and with broader geographic reach.
• HomeBiogas: Israel-founded company selling household- and farm-scale biogas systems that convert organic waste into cooking gas and liquid fertilizer. Directly comparable to LONO's KubeKo Biogas on product form factor, end-use (cooking gas + compost), and target customer (smallholder / on-site).
• Sanergy (now Regen Organics): Kenyan waste-to-value company collecting organic waste and converting it into fertilizer (Evergrow) sold to smallholder farmers. Directly comparable end-to-end model — waste collection → composting → fertilizer sales — in a similar African emerging-market context.
• Safi Organics: Kenyan startup producing organic fertilizer from agricultural waste (rice husks and other residues). Directly comparable on the compost/soil-amendment product side, with a similar target customer (smallholder farmers) and tropical-market go-to-market.
• Takamoto Biogas: East African biodigester manufacturer serving agricultural and municipal customers. Comparable on technology (small-to-mid scale anaerobic digestion), customer segment, and East African operating environment.

Emerging players

• BURN Manufacturing: Kenya-based manufacturer of clean cookstoves and biomass fuel products. Comparable on the clean-cooking-energy end-use case (LONO's KubeKo Biogas produces cooking gas) and smallholder customer base across East/West Africa, though BURN does not operate biogas infrastructure.
• CCm Technologies: UK-based cleantech company producing fertilizer and other products from industrial waste streams (notably poultry). Comparable on the waste-to-fertilizer business model and on operating in distributed, smaller-scale organics processing facilities.
• Waste Ventures: India- and Southeast Asia-focused social enterprise developing decentralized waste management and composting solutions in emerging markets. Comparable on mission (small-scale, decentralized organics processing for underserved markets) and target customers (informal-sector and smallholder).

Broad incumbents

• Novonesis (formerly Novozymes): Global industrial biotechnology leader with enzymes and microbial solutions for waste treatment, composting, and biogas production. Adjacent incumbent: supplies enabling biology to the same anaerobic-digestion and composting category in which LONO operates, but does not sell end-user biodigester hardware.
• Veolia Africa / SIAT: Large multinational environmental services and agribusiness operators with established West African footprints (e.g., Veolia's water/waste services, SIAT's palm/banana/rubber operations). Comparable as the type of large incumbent LONO could partner with — or be displaced by — as organic waste valorization scales in the region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lonoci

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LONO