KINGO’S SMART ENERGY SYSTEM WINS PRODUCT DESIGN GRAND PRIX AT CANNES

Miami, FL – July 13, 2018 – Stunning aesthetics, powerful engineering, and a game-changing solution to energy poverty designed by Kingo take home the most prestigious award for Product Design at Cannes Lions. The seven-day gathering that is the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is considered the largest and most reputable celebration of creative communications, advertising and related fields in the world. This year, a campaign designed by Ogilvy & Mather through its Guatemala and Colombia agencies for its client Kingo, won the Product Design Grand Prix in the category of Innovation.

Kingo and Ogilvy submitted the campaign, Creating the Largest Clean Energy User Base in History, shortly after the announcement of an investment from Leonardo DiCaprio on the fast-growing multinational energy company. An informational teaser video that illustrates Kingo’s business model accompanied the announcement of DiCaprio’s investment, and took the campaign’s spotlight following the massive attention it obtained. This sort of traction provided Kingo and Ogilvy a shortlist spot in the category of Innovation, which followed by an innovation pitch by Juan Fermín Rodriguez (CEO and Founder of Kingo) and Ramiro Eduardo (VP of Creative Services at Ogilvy Guatemala) at Cannes.

“We discussed what constitutes good product design, and the need to create something that somehow alters the world. The Grand Prix [Kingo] won because it’s scalable, it connects communities and enhances social mobility.” Said Asaf Kahn, architect and president of the jury. “It was also something we thought we would remember in 10, 20, 50 years’ time. The thing that binds all the winners, and is especially true of the Grand Prix, is that they have the true spirit of experimentation.”

This GP represents the first ever for Central America and the Caribbean, and “one of many more to come” as stated by Juan Fermín Rodriguez, CEO and Founder of Kingo. The win has generated long conversation around Kingo and its efforts to unlock worldwide access to sustainable power. The company delivers clean energy to off-grid communities through its prepaid business model and has impacted more than 70,000 households to date, delivering powerful impact to an underserved segment of the global population. Kingo expects to reach 1mm households by 2020. Visit www.kingoenergy.com to learn more.

About Kingo

Kingo was founded in Guatemala in 2013 by Juan Fermín Rodriguez, Matias de Tezanos (CEO of PeopleFund), Alvaro Rodriguez, and Peter Kasprowicz, four entrepreneurs looking to improve human lives by providing clean, safe, off-grid electricity at a lower cost than existing alternatives. The Company's executive team includes experts in mass consumer markets, telecommunications, software, and energy.

Since its founding, Kingo has raised $25.0 Million in several equity and debt rounds led by prominent investors and institutions including the global pioneer in value added investments (PeopleFund), the largest utility in Europe (ENGIE Rassembleurs d'Energies), and the innovation fund of one of the largest utilities in Latin America (FCP, from EPM). Kingo has also raised funds from the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), the French Development Bank (Proparco) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); all of whom are looking to provide significant funding over the next years for Kingo’s global expansion and technology developments. Other key partners include Leonardo DiCaprio, who has joined the Company as an investor and advisor. Kingo has also partnered with award-winning agency network Ogilvy & Mather, through its Colombia & Guatemala offices, to launch Kingo’s vision into the world.

Kingo delivers its prepaid energy service using robust and intelligent proprietary technology. This includes its smart energy systems called Kingos and its cloud-based suite of data management software. With Kingo's prepaid solar energy service, users can readily and inexpensively access tools that enhance their productivity, connectivity, and overall wellbeing.