El socio director y cofundador de IGNIA es el primer MBA mexicano de Harvard en recibir el Alumni Achievement Award, máximo reconocimiento de la Harvard Business School para aquellos egresados que han logrado distinguirse por sus contribuciones económicas y sociales.

Boston, Massachusetts, 28 de mayo de 2019. Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, socio director y cofundador de IGNIA, se convirtió en el primer MBA mexicano de la Harvard Business School (HBS) en recibir el Alumni Achievement Award, el máximo reconocimiento que otorga esta institución educativa a sus egresados. En su edición 2019, Rodríguez Arregui recibió este galardón junto al empresario y político Michael Bloomberg, así como el almirante Michael Mullen.

El Alumni Achievement Award reconoce a los miembros más destacados de la comunidad de ex alumnos de la HBS, quienes han logrado distinguirse por sus contribuciones a las empresas e instituciones en las que colaboran, sin dejar de lado la ayuda a sus comunidades, convirtiéndose en modelos ejemplares de los que Harvard busca formar en términos de sociedad y negocios. Esta distinción se entrega cada año a un pequeño número de graduados que representan las mejores tradiciones y aspiraciones de la HBS y es la primera vez que un egresado mexicano del MBA de esta institución recibe este reconocimiento.

El Alumni Achievement Award es entregado durante la ceremonia de “Class Day”, que es parte de las ceremonias de graduación de los alumnos de MBA de la Universidad de Harvard, en Boston, Massachusetts.

“Tu visión empresarial inspiradora, tu compromiso para apalancar el poder del emprendedurismo para cambiar vidas y tu reconocida reputación como un líder de gran integridad, son logros profesionales extraordinarios. Además, tu dedicación y promoción al gran número de causas y organizaciones que apoyas, incluyendo tus roles como voluntario en Harvard, son ejemplo claro de tu profunda conexión con tu comunidad” indicó Nitin Nohria, decano de la Harvard Business School, en una carta dirigida al galardonado en donde indica los mayores méritos por los que se otorga el reconocimiento 2019 a Rodríguez Arregui.

Michael Chu, cofundador y socio de IGNIA, menciona que esta distinción es un logro para el ecosistema emprendedor en México, el cual atraviesa un momento de grandes oportunidades. “Es destacable que Harvard, una de las más grandes instituciones académicas a nivel mundial, esté volteando a ver a México y reconozca el trabajo que se está haciendo en términos de apoyo a emprendedores, innovación tecnológica e impulso de startups, las cuales son las principales acciones que impulsamos desde IGNIA”.

Christine Kenna, socia de IGNIA: “Estamos muy felices por el reconocimiento para Álvaro, además es una muestra del panorama favorable que vivimos para los emprendimientos en México, el talento mexicano y sus innovaciones tecnológicas han sido bien recibidas en el

mercado global, despertando el interés de inversionistas nacionales e internacionales. Desde el venture capital se debe seguir trabajando para apoyar estos proyectos ambiciosos, ya que sin un apoyo adecuado muchos de estos emprendimientos no lograrán expandirse con todo su potencial” explica.

Rodríguez Arregui menciona que recibir este galardón es un reconocimiento al apoyo que ha recibido durante su carrera. “Me siento muy agradecido y honrado, y este premio es realmente para mi familia, por su amor y apoyo incondicional; para mis socios y equipo por su sabiduría y compromiso; para los inversionistas que han confiado en la propuesta de IGNIA, y los emprendedores con los que trabajamos, quienes son los que están cambiando sus comunidades, industrias y trayendo nuevos beneficios a la sociedad”, indica.

Para más información sobre el Alumni Achievement Award de Harvard Business School del 2019 y años anteriores consultar https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/alumni- achievement-awards-2019.aspx

IGNIA es un fondo de inversión de venture capital fundado por Álvaro Rodríguez y Michael Chu en 2007, con el objetivo de apoyar el crecimiento de la clase media emergente en México a través del financiamiento de emprendimientos que buscan cambiar la forma en que se hacen los negocios en su industria, y que brindan una propuesta de valor para el fortalecimiento de este sector.

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Acerca de IGNIA:

Es el fondo de inversión de venture capital más importante de México, enfocado en el apoyo a emprendimientos en cualquier industria y etapa de desarrollo, que cuenten con una propuesta de valor que cambie su forma de hacer negocios. Fue fundado por Álvaro Rodríguez y Michael Chu en 2007, y han invertido en más de 20 empresas de industrias como fintech, real estate, mascotas, retail, educación y e-commerce. Para más información, visite  www.ignia.mx

Mexico City, April 9, 2019 –Takeoff, the technology company that allows supermarkets to sell their products online (e-Groceries) in a profitable and efficient way, receives investment from IGNIA, which is added to the list of investors of the company as the only venture capital fund. This is the result of IGNIA´s ability to attract extraordinary global opportunities.

Takeoff offers supermarkets an alternative to compete profitably in the online market, through the construction of hyper local micro fulfillment centers operated by robots, which allows supermarkets to satisfy the demand of online orders, and deliver them quickly and economically.

Takeoff offers a complete end-to-end solution that encompasses the e-commerce platform, the management of the supply chain, the logistics, and the automated fulfillment solution, and it is ready to be implemented with existing grocery retailers. Thanks to Takeoff, different supermarket chains can adapt to the new consumption habits of their customers, without having to make massive investments and achieving profitability.

Takeoff was co-founded by José Vicente Aguerrevere; veteran in the supermarket sector, founder of DiaDia Practimercados, a disruptive supermarket chain in Latin America, and a former consultant at Booz Allen and Hamilton; and Max Pedro, who was vice president of Walmart International and former consultant at McKinsey. Together they lead a team of approximately 100 people, based in Boston, Massachusetts and Kiev, Ukraine.

Takeoff currently operates in the US, and the capital raised will allow them to continue with the accelerated pace that demands the current market. Takeoff’s vision is to expand its international presence in 2020, with Mexico, Australia, Chile and Canada among potential markets.

“The number of people who buy their groceries online has grown at an accelerated pace in recent years, and it is expected that, in a period of 5 to 7 years, 70% of consumers will buy their groceries through the Internet, according to the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Nielsen. With these trends, Takeoff has a unique opportunity to position itself as the provider of the most cost-effective solution for supermarkets that want to compete in the e-Groceries sector”, commented Fabrice Serfati, Partner at IGNIA.

“We are proud to have IGNIA as Takeoff´s investor. Both IGNIA and Takeoff align on the broader mission of reinventing the way we do business to achieve significantly higher performance, in this case reinventing e-Groceries”, said Jose Vicente Aguerrevere, Co-Founder and CEO of Takeoff Technologies.

About IGNIA

IGNIA is a venture capital firm that invests in high growth enterprises targeting the emerging middle class of Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA has two funds with $200 million dollars under management. IGNIA invests in sectors such as healthcare, fintech, financial services, education and basic services. For more information please visit: http://www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund.

About Takeoff

Takeoff offers an e-Grocery solution (online shopping) that allows food retailers to achieve profitable online growth by using automation on a “hyper-local” scale. Buyers place their orders online through established retailers (whether they use their own existing e-commerce platform or Takeoff’s customized UI solution) and Takeoff’s automated technology arms orders using robots in micro stores or “Micro Fulfillment Centers”. The company was founded by José V. Aguerrevere and Max Pedro in 2016, and recently closed its Series B investment round, bringing the total capital raised to $62 million dollars.

The company’s robotic infrastructure is proven and ready to be implemented on a large scale thanks to Takeoff’s exclusive partnership with Knapp – the leading global provider of warehouse automation. The innovative Takeoff model of automated micro-warehouses or “Micro Fulfillment Centers”, operates with a much lower service cost than other e-commerce platforms, solving both the cost of putting together the order and the last mile. This translates into savings for both buyers and retailers. For more information, visit www.takeoff.com

Contact IGNIA

Jimena Garcia Cuellar

Investor and Institutional Relations

Tel: +52 (55) 8000 7295

Email: jgc@ignia.mx

Contact Takeoff

Jose Vicente Arreguevere, Co- FounderTakeoff

Lucia Brower, Chief of Staff

Email: jose@takeoff.com

Email: lucia@takeoff.com

Mexico City, April 2, 2019 – IGNIA (http://www.ignia.mx), completed the repayment of its debt with the Inter-American Development Bank (“IDB”) after the partial exit of IGNIA Fund I from its investment in Provive.

IGNIA´s partial exit and the subsequent repayment of its debt to the IDB took place after Provive closed a major debt transaction with a fund from an important international bank. Provive will use the funding to accelerate its growth and to substantially improve its capital structure by refinancing its existing debt.

IGNIA was Provive´s first investor, and has supported the company since 2011. To date, Provive has generated nearly $5,000 million pesos in value with the recovery of more than 8,500 homes, supporting 50,000 Mexican families in the cities from Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juárez and Hermosillo. Its program operates through the collaboration of Provive and Fundación Tu+Yo; the first is in charge of acquiring, rehabilitating and selling abandoned homes, while the Fundación Tu+Yo implements programs that promote education, organization and participation of community members to meet and solve their needs. Together, they have achieved the development of more prosperous, strong and active communities through improved access to housing and a better quality of life.

“Provive has proven to be a highly successful company in the field of urban regeneration of low-income communities. This is reflected, in part, in the excellent return that the Company has generated for investors like IGNIA, and confirms our investment thesis of supporting companies focused on the emerging middle class. We are confident that Provive will continue to grow and generate value for its shareholders, we continue to have an important equity stake in this venture. Additionally, we are excited that a world-class bank has joined us in this endeavor”, said Fabrice Serfati, Partner of IGNIA.

About IGNIA

IGNIAis a venture capital firm that invests in high growth enterprises targeting the emerging middle class of Mexico. Founded in 2007, IGNIA has two funds with $200 million dollars under management. IGNIA invests in sectors such as fintech, financial services, e-commerce, software services, education and basic services. For more information please visit: http://www.ignia.mx and @IGNIA_Fund.

About PROVIVE

Provive is an organization founded in 2009 by José Antonio Diaz, an entrepreneur who detected the problems generated by the abandonment of housing in Tijuana, such as insecurity, delinquency and social backwardness. The organization is responsible for rehabilitating low-income housing that are under a high rate of abandonment and a marked social decomposition. For more information, please visit http://www.provive.mx.

Contact IGNIA

Jimena García-Cuéllar

Investor and Institutional Relations Manager

Tel: +52 (55) 8000 7295

Email: jgc@ignia.mx