Ploughing through the problem: How TROTRO Tractor is changing Agricultural mechanization in Africa
With Africa’s youthful population and vast agricultural potential, TROTRO Tractor is on a mission to revolutionize the African agricultural landscape. CEO and co-founder, Emmanuel Ansah-Amprofi, describes their goal as “Improving food security, creating decent jobs and empowering rural economies by providing farmers with available, accessible and affordable mechanization and digital agricultural solutions.”
Currently TROTRO Tractor operates across Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with a vision to be in every African country that has arable land for farming. “We want to inspire change and recruit a new generation of informed, educated, and innovative agribusiness professionals across the value chain. This will reduce hunger across Africa and the world”, says Ansah-Amprofi.
Ansah-Amprofi recently took over the reins as CEO from co-founder Kamal Yakub, as part of their long-term strategy. When asked about his vision, Ansah-Amprofi says, ”I want to see the company become even more profitable for the farmer, investors, founders but above all, humanity. TROTRO tractor has set out to become a Pan-African brand, and under my leadership I want to build on our legacy that is anchored in innovation and research, and ultimately, improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.”
As part of their goal to become market leaders in the digital agricultural space, TROTRO Tractor wants to attract a new breed of young and educated Africans into the Agribusiness value chain. “We are building a dynamic team that works across the various markets in which we operate, and we want to empower each member of our team to be a leader in his/her own area of expertise”, says Ansah-Amprofi.
TROTRO Tractor recently entered into the biggest market in Africa, Nigeria. “The successful launch has helped bolster our confidence, as well as validate our enterprise solution” says Ansah-Amprofi. Further to this, TROTRO Tractor also launched their solution in Zambia this year through a number of strategic partnerships, strengthening their footprint in the SADC sub-region. “As complex as the mechanization space is, it’s a rewarding one that needs to keep growing if Africa’s food security is to improve. We aim to expand into 10 more countries in the next 24 months with Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and some of the African Francophone countries as our main target markets”, says Ansah-Amprofi.
For the last 9 months, TROTRO Tractor has been part of the Endeavor African Agri-tech Scale Up Programme in partnership with FMO. “The programme came at exactly the right time for us. It has given us (and continues to give us) the support needed to navigate some critical issues encountered in growing our business”, says Ansah-Amprofi.
Ansah-Amprofi elaborates, “We have had access to great mentors, well-thought-out content, and group discussions with industry experts across the various fields, sharing real world examples. I have made connections to networks that ordinarily would have taken years to establish. Moreover, my fellow cohort members and the Endeavor team have been instrumental in helping me develop key leadership skills needed to scale TROTRO Tractor into a global brand.”
TROTRO Tractor is a part of the African Agri-Tech Scale-Up Programme. Run by Endeavor South Africa, in partnership with FMO, this programme provides 10 of the most promising African Agri-Tech start-ups with the full support of the Endeavor network. The programme provides these entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to develop globally scalable solutions, such as access to global thought leaders, structured mentorship, and investor networking opportunities. Throughout the 12-months of this programme, Endeavor connects these growing companies with the right business leaders and industry experts within the Endeavor network. The goal of the programme is to help these high-impact companies scale and raise capital as they use tech-enabled solutions to address Agri-Food challenges across the continent.
This program was supported by the FMO Ventures Program Technical Assistance Facility, co-funded by the Dutch Government and European Union. More information about the FMO Ventures Program can be found at the FMO website: www.fmo.nl/venturesprogram.
This program was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Endeavor South Africa and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
