From emergency to restart
“To face the crisis and prepare the restart for tomorrow”: that’s the motto set out by France Active to help social entrepreneurs cope with the crisis. In this respect, France active mobilizes with its partners (such as the French Government, banks, public institutions, enterprises…) to offer entrepreneurs concrete solutions.
Only 2 months out of the economic shutdown set up to curb the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, it is hard to draw the first consequences of the crisis and to look at the situation objectively. Although there is not yet enough data available for an exhaustive analysis, France Active has identified general trends by looking closely at the enterprises in its portfolio since April.
- the most fragile enterprises are suffering the most: the one without equity and the one already having problems before the crisis; they often tend to be the small ones.
- the strongest enterprises are cushioning the blow of the crisis and are trying to do their best to overcome the crisis.
In view of the above, France Active has been working hard and in close collaboration with the banking sector, to shape and direct the support according to the diverse needs of the multitude entrepreneurs in its portfolio. For some of them, the issue is to tackle their lack of liquidity while at the same time preserving them from too high level of debt. For others, the priority is to face with unexpected costs and upheaval of their usual activity, which implies reviewing their short-term strategy and resorting to some of the measures implemented by the French government. Some sectors are also suffering more than the others, such as for instance: tourism, catering services, events, sport…
To these ends, France Active has developed a response for all these situations, with a twofold answer. As other financial organisations, France Active tried at first to respond to the urgency of the situation by helping to keep social businesses afloat during the pandemic. Thus, entrepreneurs benefitting of loans from France Active were proposed: suspension of repayment deadlines, on-demand delay of some maturities at the end of the loan, restructuring of the loans. Entrepreneurs benefitting of a loan guarantee from France Active were offered an extension of the maximum guarantee period in the event of rescheduling of the loan (up to 6 months). If the loan hadn’t been deducted yet, France Active also offered entrepreneurs a 3-month extension of their guarantee agreement. Secondly, the association worked on measures to support the restart of activity for the companies most committed in terms of social impact, employment and environment. Furthermore, with the support of the French High Commissioner for the Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation and some private partners, France Active implemented a program to help small social organizations to cover operating expenses via a 5 000 € grant.
As part of this global response, France Active has also published on its website a toolbox, which it regularly updates, to inform on emergency measures undertaken by social economy actors. France Active is currently developing further its financial and non-financial support offer. By enabling access to a unique network of partners, France Active also helps entrepreneurs to raise other types of funding and to get relevant advice.
In addition to the measures established by the French government and major public actors, and in line with its strategic project and subsequent priorities, France Active has revised and developed its Turnaround Pact. As part of this revision, it has strengthened its focus on entrepreneurs who have difficulty accessing bank financing, as well as entrepreneurs who have based their project on social
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France Active and the European Union: a common fight for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
On May 9th, we will celebrate Europe Day. This occasion is an opportunity to recall the crucial role held by the European Union for the preservation of both employment and social cohesion, as well as its cooperation with France Active on these matters. In the particular context of the health and economic crisis linked to COVID-19, the continuity of this support is more than ever essential to give us the possibility to keep supporting socially committed entrepreneurs on their path to recovery and relaunch. This is all the more important to enable Social Economy to play a substantial role in the strategy to respond to this crisis.
France Active has been working with Europe for more than 20 years, to develop social cohesion in our territories, and ease the access to employment through entrepreneurship. In order to do so, France Active has benefitted from European funding, through the mobilization of the European Social Fund, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) but also the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). It has also benefitted from the support of the European Investment Fund for its financial structures, France Active Investissement and France Active Garantie. France Active is also a member of European networks such as FEBEA, EVPA, and actively participates to European working groups on socially committed entrepreneurship.
The renewal of the guarantee and counter-guarantee agreements by the EIF (European Investment Fund) at the beginning of 2020 within the framework of the EaSI and COSME programs, as well as the financial support of the European Commission to the brand new Seed Fund launched in January 2020 (see our article here), confirm the confidence that Europe places in France Active model. Those European resources are essential to strengthen France Active ability to advise and invest in socially committed enterprises. This is also useful for the development of its social impact assessment approach that takes into account social enterprises specificities, as part of the European project VISES.
This long-standing trust takes on particular resonance in the current context. France Active is working alongside the European institutions to implement specific measures to respond to the crisis and to guarantee the access of social economy actors to the economic rescue measures planned by the European Union. By doing so, Europe reaffirms its support to social economy and its relevance for the development of this field. Our network wishes that the context will allow for a top-down exit that will pave the way for the advent of an inclusive, solidarity-based and sustainable economy, supporting social innovation through solidarity finance, and putting upfront the wellbeing of the European citizens. We work to create and strengthen alliances with European actors sharing that same ambition. France Active network will keep on carrying these ideas in its cooperation with Europe, particularly in the framework of the participation of its president Pierre-René Lemas to the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES).
Continuing this successful cooperation should enable us to pursue the following goals:
- To support all kinds of committed entrepreneurship, and more specifically the model of social and solidarity-based companies.
- To promote solidarity finance in Europe based upon the search of a strong and sustainable social and environmental impact.
Today we face, tomorrow we restart!
France Active mobilizes alongside social entrepreneurs to help them cope with the crisis.
With concrete solutions, tailored to different profiles, France Active and its 40 territorial associations are mobilizing to enable social entrepreneurs to resist the loss of activity they might encounter in the current period, and to prepare the relaunch of their activity in the aftermath of the crisis.
In the panel they have set up, both financial and extra-financial solutions have been developed to respond to a wide variety of needs:
- Financing solutions for those benefitting of a loan from France Active; such as a 6-month suspension of repayment deadlines, the deferment of some maturities at the end of the loan, or if necessary, a restructuration of their loan.
- Financing solution adapted to beneficiaries of bank loans guaranteed by France Active, by maintaining the guarantee commitment in the event of rescheduling of the loan, the extension of the maximum guarantee period if it is extended, or pending the effective disbursement of the loan
- France Active also offers a reinforced support to social entrepreneurs, to help them assess their economic situation, and define a roadmap for the upcoming months. This type of support can lead to the constitution of a financial round table, but also to the grant of a zero-rate loan to help the company meet short-term financing needs and support its search of other funding.
In addition to these measures, France Active has published on its website a toolbox, which it regularly updates, to inform on emergency measures undertaken by social economy actors.
This toolbox, developed in French, is available here.
All the teams of the France Active network remain available to respond to the needs and requests of entrepreneurs. As its president Pierre-René Lemas would say, “Social entrepreneurs can count on us. The emergency is solidarity. This concerns all of us”.
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France Active launches the 1st Seed Fund fully devoted to social innovation entrepreneurs.
France Active launches the 1st Seed Fund fully devoted to social innovation entrepreneurs.
Montreuil, Tuesday 4th February 2020
Obtaining financial assistance and counselling at the first and critical stage of commercial introduction, is often difficult, especially for those embarking on social innovation. To give social entrepreneurs the means to face this high-risk stage, France Active launches the first seed fund of 10 Million Euros.
Under the French Impact banner (an initiative led by the French government), the brand new Seed fund, has been selected by the European Commission to strengthen France Active’s ability to advise and invest in committed social entrepreneurial projects. This project is also supported by the High-Commission for Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation (HCESS).
This Seed Fund was officially launched on February 4th, 2020, in presence of Ann Branch, Head of the « Job Creation » Unit, in the « Employment, social affairs and inclusion » Directorate. Christophe Itier, High-Commissionner for Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation, and Chistophe Genter, director of the Social Innovation and Territorial Cohesion Department at the Bank of the Territories.
Objective : Finance 100 companies for a total amount invested of €10 million
The crucial first fundraising that will allow a project to be launched concretely or to scale up is the most stressful phase for the entrepreneur. A recent OpinionWay survey for France Active showed that while 42% of 18-30 year olds say they want to start their own business, nearly 80% of them acknowledge that they would not be able to do so without help. 31% of them mention a need for financing, 21% want support to access a professional network, 20% want to be supported by a coach, etc.
Therefore, France Active decided to hasten its action in favor of social entrepreneurs, especially those in seed stage, with:
- the mobilization of 12 advisors who will provide tailor-made advice in each region to entrepreneurs who place social innovation at the heart of their project.
- the creation of this Seed Fund, a solidarity-based seed capital offer dedicated to social innovation structures that will enable them to obtain equity financing of between 50,000 euros and 200,000 euros, as well as support during the first round of financing.
Over the next two years, France Active aims at financing and supporting 100 social business in metropolitan France as well as in its overseas territories, for a total investment of €10 million.
As part of the official launch of this new fund, France Active organized an event on February 4th, 2020 with 6 social entrepreneurs who benefited from a fundraising. Thus, Simplon, Label Emmaüs, Moulinot, Eco-Mégot, Le Drive Tout Nu, Ecov, were invited to talk about their experience with other future entrepreneurs.
- Simplon is a social company that intends to make digital technology a lever for inclusion, revealing different talents whom are currently little represented in the digital economy. It accompanies organizations, to make their digital transformation inclusive and providing them with technical solutions (high-performance and responsible websites and applications). Today, Simplon builds a network of digital factories in France and abroad. Since its creation in 2013, more than 6200 trainees have been trained, including 40% of women and 50% of whom have few or no qualifications.
https://simplon.co/
- Label Emmaüs : This cooperative is a web-based e-commerce platform, which belongs to the Emmaüs Movement, created in 2016. It enables a multitude of items sold in the Emmaus shops to be purchased online. More generally, the label supports a digital solidarity transformation project within the movement, by offering a new distribution channel for items sold by the communities. It is also helping to build Emmaüs companions’ capacities by teaching them new trading techniques. The cooperative also builds professional integration programs for the job fields of the future such as web development, web marketing and logistical support.
https://www.label-emmaus.co/fr/
- Moulinot : is a solidarity-based company pioneering in the management of food waste also called “biowaste”. As early as 2014, it came up with an innovative solution to an insolvable issue, by proposing to raise awareness and train restaurant owners located in Ile-de-France to set up a waste sorting system in their kitchen. The company comes, collects these wastes on a daily basis thanks to the use of ecofriendly vehicles, and bring it back to the firm in the region. From that point, Moulinot has developed 2 ways to reuse it, either as compost, or by transporting it to agricultural methanizers to make biogas or electricity. This activity is also supporting a social project, aimed at bringing marginalized people back to employment through training and construction of integration programs. Supported during the seed stage by France Active in 2014, the company is now the leading player in this sector among all the Parisian region.
https://www.moulinot.fr/site/
- EcoMegot provides a complete, professional and local solution to raise awareness, collect and reuse cigarette butts for both private and public actors. To this end, it sets up specific ashtrays from where these butts will be collected and treated afterwards. It follows a twofold objective: on the one end it contributes to the depollution in urban and natural spaces, on the other end, it creates local employment.
https://ecomegot.com/
- Ecov is an innovative, social and solidarity-based start-up. Its objective is to use cars as a collective means of transportation by developing local solutions for carpooling, with and on behalf of local collectivity. Ecov offers local car-sharing lines in peri-urban and rural areas, providing a solution to the issue of desertification, public transportation shortage, and the subsequent isolation in those areas.
https://www.ecov.fr/
- Le Drive Tout Nu : Opened in 2018 next to Toulouse, thanks to solidarity-based finance, Drive Tout Nu is the first zero waste drive, 100% responsible. It offers food, cosmetics, and household products in zero-waste version. By combining the bulk with the convenience of the drive, Drive Tout Nu aims to democratize a more responsible and ecological consumption for everyone. At least 60% of the products are sourced within a 100km range, and are produced organically or assimilated. 100% of the products are provided within a reusable packaging, and 10cts are offered as a voucher for each returned container. For an equal amount, the products are 10 to 40% cheaper than their packaged equivalent.
https://ledrivetoutnu.com/
Press release
Europe and France Active – Working together for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
Europe Day, held on 9 May, provided the perfect opportunity to remember the crucial role the European Union plays in creating employment and promoting social cohesion, working in tandem with the France Active network.
France Active has been working with the EU for nearly 20 years, promoting social cohesion across member states and increasing access to employment through entrepreneurship. In support of this work, France Active receives European financing, particularly through the intermediary of the European Social Fund. France Active’s bank loan guarantee activities draw on the resources of the European Regional Development Fund and European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; it is also supported by the European Investment Fund. Through this collaboration, our movement of socially-committed entrepreneurs entrepreneurs has developed a certain expertise in the management of European resources. France Active is a member of several European networks, for example, the European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks – FEBEA and the European Venture Philanthropy Association – EVPA, and plays an active role in working groups on subjects concerning Europe.
Our network now wishes to make an even greater contribution to building the Europe of the future at a time that offers every opportunity. While promoting social awareness amongst businesses is an important first step towards creating a new economic model, it is not Europe’s only option. Along with many others, France Active is keen to adopt a clear position promoting a socially aware economic model that offers benefits for both society and the economy.
This goal is the logical continuation of a political project that our network is leading in France: creating an inclusive, sustainable and socially conscious economic model. This is achieved by reinforcing the social innovation that is key to developing the European social model. In parallel, we are working with various partners to develop socially conscious financing. We are also creating and strengthening ties with European players that share our goals. The idea is to promote and duplicate alternative and hybrid business models like those developed by France Active.
France Active has two main missions
1/Supporting all forms of socially conscious entrepreneurship at a European level and promoting social and inclusive business that:
- prioritises social inclusiveness and environmental protection;
- encourages fair distribution of wealth amongst all parties involved;
- is built on participatory and inclusive governance.
2/Promoting socially conscious financing at a European level with a significant and long-lasting impact on society and the environment that:
- encourages banks to finance real businesses, supporting those with least access to their services and developing responsible practices (for example, eliminating the need for personal liability loans);
- encourages participation in solidarity savings.
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Agreement signed with the EIF (Cosme)
23 Jan 2018
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Meeting with Ulla Engelmann from the European Commission (DG GROW)
12 Juil 2018
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France Active President Pierre-René Lemas is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship
26 Sep 2018
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1st meeting of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship
23 Oct 2018
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European Centre for Social Finance launched
05 Mar 2019
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2nd meeting of the « Social Investment & Skills » working group within the framework of GECES
26 Mar 2019
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2nd meeting of the “Social Investment & Skills” working group within the framework of GECES
Pierre-René LEMAS and the other expert members of the Social Investment and Skills working group met for the second time to continue discussions regarding existing European financial instruments dedicated to social investment. In this context, France Active responded to a consultation from the European Commission sharing its feedback and some suggestions for improvement. For information, the Social Investment and Skills working group is expected to play an active role within the European Commission on issues related to social finance and social investment contracts under the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027.
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Meeting with Ulla Engelmann from the European Commission (DG GROW)
12 Juil 2018
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News
Europe and France Active – Working together for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
09 Mai 2019
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European Centre for Social Finance launched
The European Centre for Social Finance has just opened in the Munich Business School. It has been created to help define best practices and share knowledge of financing social structures and social innovation. In this context, it will offer organisations that finance social businesses various services such as training and workshops on the financing of social companies. These services will be available throughout Europe thanks to the centre’s network of partners, including France Active.
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Meeting with Ulla Engelmann from the European Commission (DG GROW)
12 Juil 2018
>
News
2nd meeting of the « Social Investment & Skills » working group within the framework of GECES
26 Mar 2019
>
News
Europe and France Active – Working together for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
09 Mai 2019
>
News
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1st meeting of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship
Today, France Active chairperson Pierre-René Lemas is attending the first meeting of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship. Initial exchanges will take place concerning the Investment Plan for Europe (InvestEU) for the period 2021-2027 and on the working priorities of this group of experts. The European Commission has also announced that it intends to set up sub-working groups within this group of experts, one of which will focus on social investments and skills.
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Meeting with Ulla Engelmann from the European Commission (DG GROW)
12 Juil 2018
>
News
France Active President Pierre-René Lemas is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship
26 Sep 2018
>
News
European Centre for Social Finance launched
05 Mar 2019
>
News
2nd meeting of the « Social Investment & Skills » working group within the framework of GECES
26 Mar 2019
>
News
Europe and France Active – Working together for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
09 Mai 2019
>
News
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France Active President Pierre-René Lemas is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Social Economy and Social Entrepreneurship
The European Commission has just created a new group of experts on the social economy and social entrepreneurship, and the chairperson of France Active, Pierre-René Lemas will be a member for the period 2018-2024. The first meeting will take place in Brussels on 23 October. The role of this group is to provide advice to the European Commission on the development and implementation of policies to strengthen the social economy in member states and at a European level. It also aims to promote the exchange of experiences between stakeholders from different member states.
Others news
Meeting with Ulla Engelmann from the European Commission (DG GROW)
12 Juil 2018
>
News
European Centre for Social Finance launched
05 Mar 2019
>
News
2nd meeting of the « Social Investment & Skills » working group within the framework of GECES
26 Mar 2019
>
News
Europe and France Active – Working together for a more inclusive and sustainable economy
09 Mai 2019
>
News
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