news - Lighting up rural communities

FMO has invested US$2 million in Kingo, a renewable energy services company that serves rural communities without access to an electricity grid. Kingo was founded in 2013 in Guatemala with the aim to improve the livelihood of people through the provision of clean, safe, off-the-grid electricity at a lower cost than existing alternatives. In 2015, Kingo had over 9,000 units of their solar systems (called Kingos) installed in rural communities in Guatemala through small-community-based distribution points.

Kingo offers households a prepaid solar electricity service that can be consumed in a flexible way. Customers can choose how much energy they need and can afford on any given day. The prepaid solar system is cheaper, healthier and safer than fossil-fuel based alternatives. Kingo also maintains and services its systems, and in this way aligns its own incentives with those of the customer, supplying high quality and long lasting solar and battery technology.

The financing from the Infrastructure Development Fund will allow Kingo to further strengthen their customer base in Guatemala and creates a stepping stone for further expansion and fundraising. The lack of access to clean, reliable and affordable energy services is as one of the world’s most critical development challenges. As FMO, we are happy that we can support Kingo in their market penetrating strategy and scaling up their activities to other off-grid markets.