NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Kingo (http://www.kingoenergy.com), a leading technology company transforming the solar energy industry, announced today that it closed a $8.0 Million Series B financing round lead by prominent institutional investors, including FCP (Innovation fund of EPM a Colombian Utility), ENGIE (French Utility), as well as some of the largest development banks including, FMO (Dutch Development Bank), Proparco (French Development Bank), and H-Reff (Renewable Energy Fund).

Kingo, through its innovative prepaid solar energy service, turns lives ON for off-grid households at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BoP). Kingo’s solar power energy kits are less expensive and more reliable than candles, kerosene and diesel generators. Contrary to most existing solar off-grid solutions, which rely heavily on microfinance loans and high upfront payments, Kingo’s prepaid solar electricity model requires no loans, no installation fees, no maintenance costs, and allows customers to purchase electricity based on their consumption, their budget and provides flexibility as their energy needs change.

Photo courtesy of Karsten Würth.