LonAgro

What LonAgro does

LonAgro is a privately held, multi-country capital equipment dealer and service agent operating across six African territories — Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania — as a division of the Lonrho Group (registered via GulfLog Africa in Mauritius). The company distributes and services agricultural, construction, and mining machinery on behalf of premium OEM brands including John Deere (since 2010), BELL Equipment (exclusive dealer in Mozambique and Malawi since 2017), Kobelco, BOMAG, Fieldking, Rovic Africa, and STIHL. Its product range spans tractors, planters, implements, articulated dump trucks, excavators, and compaction equipment, with additional offerings in golf and sports turf machinery.

The business operates through a direct branch network (four branches in Mozambique alone — Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Tete — plus Blantyre, Malawi) and supplies multi-package equipment solutions to enterprise and government customers including the Mozambican government's SUSTENTA mechanization project, Total Oil and Gas (Afungi LNG), Montepuez Ruby Mining, Illovo sugar estates, and Instituto Agrário De Chimoio. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time equipment sales supplemented by recurring after-sales service, spare parts, and operator training. The company augments its core product offering with Hello Tractor GPS tracking and JDLink telemetry, enabling basic fleet monitoring for agricultural customers.

LonAgro's go-to-market is enterprise field sales backed by co-marketing with OEM partners, content marketing via its website and YouTube channel, and the 'Tech Terrain' educational program in collaboration with John Deere and Farmer's Weekly. LonAgro has won the John Deere Sub-Saharan Africa Dealer of the Year award multiple times (2015, 2016, 2017), establishing credibility across the region. The company has 37 employees, with the Group Head Office in Johannesburg and operational headquarters at Pamplemousses, Mauritius.

Name

LonAgro

Legal name

LonAgro

Website

https://lonagro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LonAgro is a multi-country African capital equipment dealer and service agent distributing John Deere, BELL, Kobelco, and related OEM brands across agriculture, construction, and mining sectors in six African countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural and Industrial Equipment Distribution

NAICS

Farm Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333111), Mining Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333131), Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing (3331)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Wholesale-Construction & Mining (No Petro) Machinery & Equip (5082)

akta.pro primary industry

Agricultural Tractor & Field Machinery Vehicle Manufacturing (IMACAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tillage & Soil Preparation Equipment (Plows, Harrows, Cultivators, Subsoilers) (AFAAAAAB), Surface Mining Equipment (Excavators, Shovels, Draglines, Dozers) (IMAKANAA)

Keywords

• Agricultural machinery distribution
• Construction equipment dealer
• Mining equipment supply
• After-sales service support
• Farm mechanization solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of agricultural, construction, and mining machinery including tractors, implements, articulated dump trucks, excavators, and compaction equipment from brands including John Deere, BELL Equipment, Fieldking, Rovic Africa, BOMAG, and Kobelco.
2. After-sales Service and Parts: Service and support including spare parts supply, technical support, and maintenance services. LonAgro provides onsite technical and spare parts support through after-sales teams.
3. Operator Training: Training programs for equipment operators and farmers to ensure proper usage and maintenance of machinery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LonAgro is an official dealer and service agent for international machinery brands across multiple African countries. The company distributes agricultural, construction, and mining equipment from leading OEMs including John Deere, BELL Equipment, Fieldking, Rovic Africa, BOMAG, and Kobelco through a branch-based model in Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Burundi. Operations encompass equipment sales, after-sales service, spare parts supply, operator training, and integrated GPS tracking solutions through a Hello Tractor partnership.

Product overview

LonAgro is an official dealer and service agent for several international machinery brands serving the Agriculture, Construction, and Mining industries across Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Burundi. The core product portfolio consists of John Deere agricultural equipment (tractors, planters, implements) and BELL Equipment (articulated dump trucks, wheeled loaders, construction equipment), complemented by FieldKing implements, Rovic Africa equipment, and Kobelco excavators. Additional offerings include BOMAG compaction equipment, STIHL power equipment, and Hello Tractor GPS tracking technology for fleet management. The company also serves the leisure and residential market through John Deere Golf and Sports Turf equipment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 Mechanised Farming packages delivered to small-scale farmers in Montepuez District through SUSTENTA Project
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Hello TractorcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 September 2020Partnership established in September 2020 with Hello Tractor, an African technology company specializing in GPS and Web-based tracking and management products. These products are installed in agricultural machinery allowing monitoring through web and mobile applications. Hello Tractor turns regular tractors into Smart Tractors by connecting them to a data cloud.
• John DeerecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLonAgro is the official dealer and service agent for John Deere across their operational territories including Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Tanzania. The relationship began in April 2010 with acquisition of Trak-Auto in Mozambique.
• BELL EquipmentcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLonAgro appointed as exclusive dealer for BELL Equipment in Mozambique and Malawi since August 2017. BELL Equipment is part of its group strategy to grow independent dealer network in select markets. LonAgro provides better coverage and support for customers in markets where infrastructure and investment are required.
• Rovic AfricacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLonAgro is official dealer for Rovic Africa equipment across their territories. Rovic Africa supplies implements including potato harvesters that have been adapted for onion harvesting in Tanzania.
• FieldkingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLonAgro is official dealer for Fieldking implements including multicrop harvesters, ploughs, harrows, trailers, and planters. Equipment supplied to government projects and commercial farms.
• BOMAGstrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAs official BELL Equipment supplier, LonAgro Mozambique supplies BOMAG products since 2017. BOMAG, founded in 1957 in Germany, is a leader in compaction technology. Products include soil, asphalt and refuse compaction equipment, stabilizers and recyclers.
• KobelcostrategicChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIn March 2019, LonAgro announced appointment as official sales and service agents for KOBELCO construction products in several operational territories. Kobelco excavators range from 5.5-ton SK55SRX-6 to 85-ton SK850LC units, with products distributed through the Bell dealer network.
• STIHLminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLonAgro Tanzania became official dealer for STIHL equipment, announced at Dealer of the Year Awards ceremony in December 2017.
• GulfLog AfricacoreOthersGulfLog Africa is the parent company/division of LonAgro, located in Pamplemousses, Mauritius. LonAgro is a division of Lonrho Group. GulfLog provides logistics and supply chain services across Africa.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BELL Equipment: South African articulated dump truck and loader manufacturer that appointed LonAgro as exclusive dealer in Mozambique and Malawi (2017). Comparable as both supplier and strategic counterparty; BELL's dealer-network strategy directly determines LonAgro's mining-equipment pipeline.
• John Deere: Global agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer whose Sub-Saharan dealer network LonAgro represents. Relevant as the dominant brand whose franchise decisions drive LonAgro's largest revenue stream and which could at any point choose to consolidate or rotate dealers.
• AGCO Corporation: Global agricultural equipment manufacturer (Massey Ferguson, Fendt, Valtra) competing with John Deere for dealer mindshare in Africa. Relevant as an incumbent whose distributor network represents the alternative franchise channel LonAgro competes against for retail talent and branch locations.

Direct peers

• CFAO Group: Pan-African distributor of automotive, agricultural and industrial equipment (Toyota, Hyster-Yale, John Deere partner in some countries). Operates a comparable multi-country dealer model across Africa with strong enterprise customer overlap in mining and large-scale agriculture.
• AFGRI Group: South African agricultural services and equipment group providing mechanisation solutions, parts and aftermarket services. Closely comparable business model to LonAgro's agricultural segment, with similar exposure to commercial farms and smallholder mechanisation programmes.
• Barloworld: South African-listed diversified equipment distributor with significant agricultural (CLAAS, Massey Ferguson) and mining/construction OEM franchises across Sub-Saharan Africa. Highly comparable as a multi-brand, multi-country equipment dealer competing for the same mining, agriculture and infrastructure contracts.
• Mascor: Long-standing John Deere agricultural equipment dealer across South Africa. As a fellow John Deere Sub-Saharan franchise holder and award participant, Mascor competes head-to-head with LonAgro's dealerships in overlapping territories.
• Tata Zambia Limited: Replaced LonAgro as John Deere dealer in Malawi in May 2023. Directly comparable as a competing John Deere franchisee, and demonstrates the OEM-franchise substitution risk LonAgro faces in its other territories.
• NWK Holdings: South African agricultural inputs and equipment distributor serving commercial farmers. Comparable as a regional agricultural equipment retailer providing machinery, parts and after-sales services to the same type of farming customer LonAgro serves.

Others

• Hello Tractor: African agri-tech company providing GPS-based tractor tracking and fleet management. LonAgro's technology partner (since Sept 2020) and an enabling ecosystem player whose software integrates into LonAgro's equipment — illustrative of the digital layer increasingly differentiating traditional dealers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5-TO-Kq-s7XaZq1
• Facebookfacebook.com/LonAgroMozambique
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lonagromachinery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 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 LonAgro