A social and circular enterprise created within a detention workshop

Jacques GRIMONT

Founder of Yoti

Toy refurbishment

Thanks to France Active, we have benefitted from a unique support to develop and structure our whole activity. Their expertise, their advice and their fundings are an undeniable advantage to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

A social and circular enterprise created within a detention workshop

Houilles, Yvelines

Toy refurbishment

In Houilles, in the Yvelines’ region, Yoti refurbishes toys, games and book with a unique aim: to reduce waste production while facilitating the professional reintegration of detained people. Founded in 2021 by Jacques Grimont and Vincent Corrèges, this enterprise belonging to the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE), transforms prisons into workshops of refurbishment to give a second life to toys.

Refurbished toys, rebuilt lives

The first Yoti workshop opened in October 2021 at the Maison d’Arrêt in Bois d’Arcy, in a space covering more than 1,000 m². Since then, around 50 prisoners have been trained, thanks to a unique information system that tracks and secures all flows: cleaning, completeness checks, quality control, writing advertisements, etc. The result? Thousands of refurbished games!

The model has been thought out down to the smallest detail, including the industrialisation of a tailor-made process. The toys are then sold at reduced prices on their website Yoti-Shop.fr, via marketplaces (Label Emmaus), but also to local authorities under the AGEC law (games 100% coming from reuse), thanks to an offer tailored to public procurement.

A development supported by France Active and the Banque des Territoires

Building on this initial success, Yoti is thinking bigger! A second workshop opened in Le Havre at the end of 2024. By 2026, new workshops will open in the following prisons: Paris La Santé, Fleury-Mérogis, Écrouves, Orléans and Strasbourg. Ultimately, the company aims to process 10,000 tonnes of toys and support 3,000 prisoners by 2030.

To support this growth, Yoti has been able to count on strong financial backing: €720 000 provided by France Active and the Banque des Territoires, including a subordinated loan of €360 000. This funding will enable the company to consolidate a multidisciplinary team, build new workshops and meet its cash flow needs between subsidy payments.

A response to two major challenges
In France, nearly 100 000 tonnes of toys are thrown away every year. Yoti is committed to protecting the environment by combating this waste production and promoting a more circular and inclusive economy: ‘Working to reintegrate prisoners also means fighting recidivism and giving them back their place in society,’ emphasises the team.

The company now works with eco-organisations to collect used toys (Ecomaison) and continues to strengthen its social and environmental impact. Thanks to a hybrid model combining a registered association and a social enterprise, Yoti has succeeded in creating a unique model of production, support and transformation.

The perspective of France Active’s officer:

Diahara Toure, project officer at France Active Yvelines

“I met the founders in 2021, when Yoti was launched. Since the beginning, I saw it as an ambitious, well-constructed and useful project. With Jacques and Vincent, everything moved quickly: they had a clear vision and, above all, the desire to make an impact. What struck me was their ability to structure their development, to anticipate needs and always keep the purpose of the project in mind. Today, Yoti is becoming a real solution for combining reintegration and circular economy. I am quite proud to have supported this project at several stages: at its creation, but also during its initial development in 2022 and more recently during its scaling up alongside our partner La Banque des Territoires.”