Ecopetrol taps the power of global innovation during time of crisis

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play and Ecopetrol S.A. (ECOPETROLEC signed a partnership to help address future challenges within the energy industry, focusing on sustainability, profitable growth, and digitization of its value chain.

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. It connects startups to corporations and invests in over 250 companies every year. Since its inception in 2016, their programs have expanded worldwide to over 30 locations globally, giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond.

Today the Colombian company announced its partnership with Plug and Play to continue fostering its history of innovation as the energy industry transitions to a more decarbonized and digitized business over the next decades.

"We believe in open innovation and its power for strengthening our digital ecosystem. For this reason, we seek alliances with companies and organizations in Colombia and all over the world. Today we have challenges that require clever ideas and innovative solutions. This alliance with Plug and Play represents the possibility of expanding our options to reach the best developments," said Felipe Bayón, Ecopetrol's President.

"We are incredibly thrilled to be able to partner with Ecopetrol in their digital transformation journey. Latin America is a great place for growing and developing disruptive technologies. This partnership is creating effective channels for startups around the world to collaborate with Ecopetrol and have access to industry expertise in the region," said Wade Bitaraf, Founder of the Energy platform at Plug and Play.

This commitment to open innovation is part of Ecopetrol's innovation and technology strategy, which seeks to create value by strengthening its digital ecosystem through alliances with entrepreneurship centers in Colombia and the around world.

Through this partnership, Ecopetrol will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with hand-selected startups to discover and implement new technologies for their business.

About Ecopetrol
Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia; it is a comprehensive oil chain company, one of the 40 largest oil companies in the world, and one of the top four in Latin America. In addition to Colombia, where it generates more than 60% of domestic production, it has exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol owns the largest refinery in Colombia, most of the country's oil and pipeline network and is significantly increasing its participation in the biofuel sector.

This press release includes statements on business prospects, estimates for operating and financial results and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. All of them are projections and, as such, are based solely on its Director's expectations on the future of the Company and their continued access to capital in order to finance the Company's business plan. The future realization of these estimates depends on market behavior, regulations, competition, and performance conditions of the Colombian economy and industry, among other factors; and as such, they are subject to change without notice.

About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over30 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 10,000 startups and 400 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. Companies in our community have raised over $9 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club and PayPal. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

For more information please contact:
Media Relations (Colombia)
Jorge Mauricio Tellez
Telephone: + 571-234-4329
Fax: +571-234-4480
Email: mauricio.tellez@ecopetrol.com.co

Plug and Play (Silicon Valley)
Jackie Hernandez
SVP Global Partnerships
Telephone: +1-510-299-1209
Email: jackie@pnptc.com

SOURCE Plug and Play