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Simplon.co is a computer coding school with a solidarity mission that identifies, trains and facilitates the integration of school-leavers in disadvantaged areas.
The start-up Simplon.co has set itself the ambitious objective of identifying needs within the digital market to find opportunities to train and integrate school leavers in disadvantaged areas.
Certified as French Tech, Simplon.co has been providing training in digital professions since 2013. Free and open to all, its courses last from six to 12 months and are based primarily on practice and mutual support. It targets “jobseekers and school-leavers in working-class neighbourhoods, rural areas and French overseas territories, and aims to recruit equal numbers of men and women” says Frederic Bardeau, co-founder of the company.
Their method works! This socially minded computer coding school trained nearly 800 people in the four years following its creation. Of these, 78% found work less than six months after completing their training. The Montreuil-based web school is now being contacted by partner companies and local authorities. To respond to their requests, Simplon has created a network of 34 such initiatives throughout France. “We want to roll our model out across France, Europe, Africa and the Middle East” says Frédéric Bardeau.
France Active has supported the development of the company’s activity. After an initial equity loan of €75,000 in 2015, France Active Investissement led Simplon.co’s first round of fundraising in 2016. The project enjoyed a capital investment of €750,000 from France Active Investissement and key support from a pool of seven investors, including the Caisse des Dépôts, to the tune of €4.75 million.
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