SolarHome appoints retail finance veterans as CEO and COO

New appointments bring senior executive international consumer finance and retail expertise to support company's focus on the operational excellence required for next phase of growth

SINGAPORE,March 19,2019 -- SolarHome,a pioneer in Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar for off-grid households inSoutheast Asia,today announced the appointment of Greg Krasnov,SolarHome's chairman and founder, as chief executive officer (CEO) and Geert-Jan ten Hoonte as president and chief operating officer (COO). Greg will assume his new role as CEO on March 18. Geert will come onboard as president and COO on April 1.

Greg Krasnovis the founder and chairman of SolarHome,and also concurrently the CEO of FORUM,the venture-builder behind SolarHome's success. Greg has also been the chairman of the board of SolarHome since its inception. Greg brings to his new role over 20 years of international experience in consumer finance and early-stage investing across over 50 countries. His track record includes founding,building,and successfully exiting a major retail bank in Eastern Europe,backed by international private equity investors.

Geert-Jan ten Hoonte,joining as president and COO,has been a senior adviser,board member and angel investor in SolarHome since its inception. Geert's distinguished career spans over 30 years of senior experience in the retail and consumer finance sectors,most of it in the emerging markets. This includes 20 years internationally with the Ahold retail group,as well as most recently as CEO of major Asian consumer lenders Home Credit Vietnam and EasyCredit Vietnam. His deep,hands-on operational retail and consumer finance expertise will be key to driving SolarHome's growth into its next phase.

Greg and Geert succeed Ted Martynov who will continue to support SolarHome as a senior adviser. Ted Martynov said,"Greg and Geert are consumer finance and retail veterans. They have been deeply involved in the business from the start,bringing a depth of strategic vision and understanding of SolarHome and the complexities of delivering energy and financial access in a country with significant infrastructural challenges. I am confident that they have absolutely the right skillset to take SolarHome to the next level of growth and I look forward to continuing to work with the both of them on an advisory level."

Greg Krasnov,SolarHome's new CEO,said,"Ted has helped shape SolarHome to what it is today and we thank him for the leadership and dynamism he has brought to the company in the last two years. We wish him all the best as he moves to pursue personal entrepreneurial interests. As SolarHome moves into a new phase of growth with a focus on profitability and operational excellence,we are confident that the strong combination of retail and consumer finance experience that Geert and I bring will be a significant value-add to the executive team,and will enable the appropriate focus on operational excellence and sustainable profitable growth."

"I am excited to be joining SolarHome as COO after having been closely involved in the business since day one. I have always believed in our strategy and huge market potential as an organisation,and I am confident we will be able to continue to scale SolarHome's business and deliver impactful value to our customers,investors and partners as we enter the next stage of growth," said Geert-Jan ten Hoonte,new COO of SolarHome.

Since its founding in 2017,SolarHome has achieved market leadership in Myanmar,launched an extensive product range addressing all segments of market demand,raised over US$5 million in equity from some of Southeast Asia's leading impact VCs and angel investors,and built a team of over 400 employees serving over 30,000 homes across 20 hubs in Myanmar[1]. In 2018,SolarHome was recognised by CleanTech APAC's 25 List of Most Innovative Companies across the region,as well as E27's Top 10 Social Impact Start-ups in Southeast Asia 2018.

[1]As of December 2018

About SolarHome

SolarHomeis the pioneer in Pay-As-You-Go ("PAYG") Solar for off-grid households in Southeast Asia. SolarHome installs the IFC-World Bank's Lighting Global certified integrated solar energy and appliance units in customers' homes and offers radically affordable "rent-to-own" plans of energy service subscription.This dramatically lowers the barriers to adoption of solar technology by the bottom-of-pyramid clients. SolarHome is delivering a significant social impact in its addressable market of 27 million households across Southeast Asia living outside of the electric grid. Headquartered in Singapore,SolarHome presently operates in Myanmar. SolarHome was seeded and developed by FORUM,the leading fintech venture builder in Emerging Asia.

About FORUM

FORUM is the largest fintech venture builder in the Asian emerging markets. FORUMidentifies unique opportunities and builds market-leading fintech companies with seasoned CEOs/co-founders. FORUM's deep expertise in retail financial services enables a hands-on approach,providing its ventures not only seed capital but also ideation,strategic & financial planning,fundraising,recruitment,and communications. FORUM and its companies currently provide employment to over 800 people and serve more than 8 million B2C and 70 B2B clients across 18 countries. Founded in 2015,FORUM is headquartered in Singapore.