Étiquette : Impact social

Accommodation: there is another way

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)

Shared accommodation

For the last five years, Familles Solidaires has supported and encouraged the development of shared and assisted accommodation projects for people made vulnerable by age, illness or disability. In its search for unusual projects, the association is launching an ambitious call for projects in partnership with AG2R LA MONDIALE.

Mulhouse – Haut-Rhin – France

Shared accommodation

Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development of shared and assisted accommodation projects.

What if there were another way ? That was the question behind the slightly crazy gamble taken in 2012 by eight family members and friends of people made vulnerable by age, illness or disability. Faced with a lack of appropriate daily support solutions for their loved ones, they decided to invest some of their savings – €180,000 – to set up a mutual investment fund. The objective was to create suitable accommodation and provide assistance with significant social added value.

“The idea was to spare others from having to deal with the same difficulties as us”, explains Jean Ruch, Co-Director of Familles Solidaires. Ruch and his partner Bernadette Paul-Cornu, who has a medical-social background, are pushing back the boundaries in terms of accommodation. By adapting apartments to include home automation, facilitating the creation of social relationships, and providing low-rent options, they are offering innovative accommodation solutions for the vulnerable.

Ambitions on a national scale

Created to meet a specific need in the Alsace region of France, Familles Solidaires now has its sights set on a country-wide rollout. In December 2017, France Active invested €50,000 in the association to finance this change of scale. “We require a lot of financing as some of our projects cost more than €3 million. Having a prestigious partner like France Active amongst our shareholders enables us to fine-tune our strategy and build projects together”, says Bernadette Paul-Cornu. The association is now looking to promote its way of working to meet the needs of vulnerable people, their caregivers, managed associations, and local authorities.

All ideas welcome

In order to unearth more unusual projects, Familles Solidaires is launching an ambitious call for projects in partnership with AG2R LA MONDIALE. “From 1 June to 14 July, family caregivers can tell us what they want and share their ideas for accommodation development via a dedicated website. Familles Solidaires has pledged to support and provide training and advice for 10 projects, and to finance three,” explains Jean Ruch.

“AG2R is a partner that shares our convictions, and will help promote our initiative across the country, in particular amongst the caregivers it works with all year round. It will also help raise public awareness of the challenges caregivers face,” adds Bernadette Paul-Cornu. With the support of France Active and through this call for projects, Familles Solidaires intends to continue making a difference with its very inclusive accommodation solutions.

Website

Have benefited

from an equity investment of

50 000€

a support via a local capacity building program (Dispositif local d’accompagnement)

Were supported by

France Active Alsace

By 2017

It’s here

Stories

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Étude d’impact France Active 2014-2018

Réalisée en mai 2018 par TMO Régions, elle porte sur 5 771 entreprises ou associations soutenues en 2014, dont 708 d’entre elles ont été questionnées par enquête téléphonique. Les résultats sont significatifs : les entrepreneurs soutenus par France Active contribuent à relever le pari de créer de l’emploi : la création nette d’emploi à 4 ans est estimée à 19 500 postes !

Ces résultats révèlent également la pérennité des créations d’entreprises financées par le réseau : 4 entrepreneurs sur 5 sont toujours en activité 3 ans après leur financement. Ces entrepreneurs sont de surcroît optimistes en exprimant leur confiance dans l’avenir : ils sont très nombreux à vouloir se développer.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner content_placement="middle"][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_btn title="Découvrir l'infographie" shape="square" color="vista-blue" size="lg" align="left" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Ffranceactive.eu%2Fdownload%2Fetude-impact2018|||"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_btn title="Télécharger le rapport complet" shape="square" color="vista-blue" size="lg" align="left" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Ffranceactive.eu%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F03%2FMIS-rapport-finalVF27112018.pdf|||"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text][calameo code=001124445fc9dff25bf0e mode=viewer view=book width=560 height=350][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_row_inner el_class="btn-sharing"][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][hover_box image="798" image_hover="1017"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner el_class="ressource_meta_box"][vc_column_inner][vc_single_image image="7132" img_size="medium" alignment="center"][ressource_detail_sidebar label_theme="Thèmatique"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_btn title="Télécharger" shape="square" color="white" align="right" el_class="btn-download-files"][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width="1/2"][vc_btn title="Commander" shape="square" color="vista-blue" align="right"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_btn title="Toutes publications France Active" shape="square" color="vista-blue" size="lg" align="left" link="url:http%3A%2F%2Ffranceactive.eu%2Fse-documenter%2Fpublications-france-active%2F|||"][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][gravityform id="5" title="false" description="false" ajax="true"][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]

Social economy growth pact: a place for France Active

Pierre-René Lemas, President of France Active welcomed the measures in the SSE growth pact, announced on Thursday 29 November by Christophe Itier, France’s High Commissioner for Social and Solidarity Economy and Social Innovation. He praised the willingness to place this economy at the heart of the European and international agenda : SSE is a powerful driver for social cohesion and consciousness which must extend beyond our borders.

Among the measures announced to promote social entrepreneurship, France Active welcomed :

• The development of start-up funds, and support through advice and financing, which France Active has prioritised for years in order to support SSE companies in the start-up or early creation phases.
  With this initiative, the French government is giving us the means to carry out activities in even more favourable conditions.
• Simplification of the accreditation for “social business” (entreprise solidaire d’utilité sociale) status, a measure that will stimulate efforts to create businesses that are more beneficial to society, more democratic in their governance and more balanced in their pay structures.

From a wider perspective, France Active wants to participate fully in preliminary collaboration led by the High Commissioner and will help to implement the SSE growth pact.

As Pierre-René Lemas explained, “For 30 years, France Active has been supporting a growing number of entrepreneurs who want to contribute to the creation of a more sustainable and inclusive economy. Our results speak for themselves: we have supported more than 200,000 entrepreneurs who have maintained or created more than 500,000 jobs.
Our positive impact on employment, wealth creation and regional development is measured in concrete terms: I look forward to the publication, on 12 December, of a major survey on the impact of France Active; a study covering 5771 entrepreneurs supported by us in 2014 and monitored over three years.”

Press release

SSE growth pact: a place for France Active

04 Déc 2018
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How about we live together?

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages

Participatory housing

Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the form of small-scale co-habiting arrangements.

Sartrouville – Yvelines – France

Participatory housing

Alexandre Schmitt knows first-hand the impact Alzheimer’s disease can have. He experienced this terrible illness, which affects 900,000 people in France, within his family. Moreover, as a clinical psychologist, he created and spent 12 years running a training organisation dedicated to the disease. “When Alzheimer’s develops, the sufferer loses independence and family caregivers become exhausted. Everyone would prefer to remain in their own home, but the cost of 24-hour home help can reach €10,000 per month. Nursing homes are still often the only solution,” says Alexandre Schmitt.

An innovative system

Since 2014, Alexandre and his business partner, Christine Odinot, have been working on the Maison des Sages project to provide an alternative.

“We offer a co-habitation solution for eight people in a house in the centre of town where everyone pays their rent and has their own room. Staff costs are shared and housemates benefit from much more personalised support than they would in a nursing home. Plus they can spend time together in the house’s communal rooms,” explains Schmitt.

This innovative system is already widely implemented in Germany, as well as in the Morbihan department of Brittany : “I visited a house in Brittany. At mealtimes all the housemates ate with their care-givers and children in a warm, family atmosphere. Everyone helped serve the food, just like a family. This forward-thinking concept does not exist in Île-de-France, which has 150,000 people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease” adds Odinot

A partnership approach

This is why Alexandre and his partner created an ESUS limited liability company and an endowment fund for the establishment of the first ten home-shares in the Île-de-France region.

The project also brings on board several partner organisations. “Property company Caritas Habitat, which buys housing to rent to solidarity organisations, is about to acquire a town-centre home in Buc, in Les Yvelines. The Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation is co-financing project leader salaries and a feasibility study alongside France Active, which is taking part under the auspices of the Fonds de Confiance programme“, explains Alexandre Schmitt.

In this context, an endowment of €20,000 covers Christine Odinot’s salary during the study period.

“The social benefits of this project are undeniable. It is being run by a highly competent team which, with our support, have every chance of success. With the creation of the equivalent of seven full-time positions per household, the potential for regional and national development is very promising,” explains Jean-Noël Reverchon, Project Manager, France Active Yvelines.

Families first

” Our concept is based on a partnership that combines philanthropy, solidarity investment, social entrepreneurship and individual responsibility” , confirms Alexandre Schmitt. He adds: ” The role of families is crucial, as is that of volunteers providing recreational activities for patients” . If the Buc property purchase goes through, the first Maison des Sages should open and welcome housemates in June 2019.

Website

Have benefited

from a grant of

20 000€

Were supported by

France Active Yvelines

With the support of

Fondation Bettencourt-Schueller

By 2017

It’s here

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Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)
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Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères
The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.
All the stories >

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages
Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the f…
All the stories >

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)
Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development …
All the stories >

Matthieu ESCUDIÉ

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It all started with a balcony…

Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères

Organic farm

The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.

Turckheim – Alsace – France

Organic farm

From apprentice gardeners to organic farmers…
Jules and Antonin added gardening courses to their respective studies in economics and horticulture to prepare them for their project: starting an organic farm.
It is a "place where we can live and work with the greatest respect for nature and man" and where Jules and Antonin grow vegetables and fruit, and raise chickens and bees in a natural environment.
The brothers’ grandparents granted them the use of a one-hectare meadow, which has obtained the organic label and where they will practice agro-ecology. Au Pré des Frères’ organic products are sold at local markets and used by restaurateurs keen to include lesser-known high-quality vegetables on their menus.

Life project and professional project!

Agro-ecology is based on the synergy between plants and animals: the black Alsace hens eat insects, the bees pollinate the fruit trees. Vegetables interact to protect each other and grow in symbiosis. Aromatic herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, lavender and tarragon grow side by side with medicinal plants such as chamomile, lemon balm and valerian.

In this ecosystem, the brothers grow tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, radishes, beans and turnips, opting for older varieties that many have forgotten. Manure and compost enrich the soil naturally. The soil-damaging plough has been banished in favour of the chisel plough, a tool that loosens and aerates the earth.

Creative and socially-committed entrepreneurs
The Banque Populaire, intrigued by their project, suggested the brothers talk to France Active. Sonia Rapin, Head of Very Small Business in Alsace Active, who supported the project, says: "Jules and Antonin were very keen to be supported by France Active as they are activists within the Social economy." For Jules, “the CAP’JEUNES grant came at just the right time to round out our cash flow”.

And the future?

” We plan to start planting fruit trees soon. We are also completing the installation of ten new bee hives and beginning construction of a greenhouse high tunnel.” These tunnels allows producers to get a head start on the start of a new season and gain a month of growth.

Any advice for young entrepreneurs?

“Prepare your project well and analyse every aspects: feasibility, competition, opportunities, legal issues, choice of suppliers…  Also, train yourself and communicate. But above all, be passionate about the profession you have chosen.”

For the Straumann brothers, these things are at the heart of making your idea a reality.

Have benefited

from a guarantee of

25 000€

from a sum of

2 000€

Were supported by

France Active Alsace

By 2015

It’s here

Stories

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Founding CEO of AfB France
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Stephan MARTINEZ

Creator of Moulinot
Created in 2013, this Paris-based company specialising in the recovery of organic waste from restaurants was the winner of the 2017 Grand Prix de la f…
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Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)
Developed as a cooperative, Amélie Pietri and Vanessa Branchereau’s API LsF was created to promote the development of French sign language. Operati…
All the stories >

Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères
The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.
All the stories >

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages
Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the f…
All the stories >

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)
Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development …
All the stories >

Matthieu ESCUDIÉ

CEO of Eurofence
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Vincent PARET

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Say it in sign language

Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)

Services for individuals

Developed as a cooperative, Amélie Pietri and Vanessa Branchereau’s API LsF was created to promote the development of French sign language. Operating in the Nantes region, they support people who are deaf or hearing impaired with the various situations of everyday life.

Nantes – Loire Atlantique – France

Services for individuals

Each holding a Master’s degree in the interpretation and translation of French sign language, Pietri and Branchereau practiced independently before becoming business partners. Sharing the same values, they pooled their skills to create the API LsF (a Professional Agency for Interpreters of French Sign Language). For two years, they were supported by Ouvre-Boites 44, a generalist cooperative for business and employment also assisted by France Active in the Pays de la Loire region (FONDES). Last September, they launched their activity as a cooperative.

Generating dialogue

Their service aims to facilitate exchanges between deaf and hearing people in all situations: from medical consultations to administrative and professional procedures such as job interviews, annual reviews and court hearings. Their cooperative also provides assistance for companies with deaf and hearing-impaired employees during group sessions such as training courses and team meetings. Institutions and public authorities also use their services to provide sign language interpretation during public events  such as ceremonies, political debates and elections.

By pooling their resources, Pietri and Branchereau have been able to extend their field of activity to the world of arts and culture. For several years, they have worked at the Tissé Métisse, Hip Opsession and Cine Alter’natif festivals in Nantes. They also regularly provide services for theatre companies and during performances.

Priority zone guarantee
Aurélie Pantin, Project Manager at FONDES supported the cooperative. "Vanessa and Amélie know how to convey their passion for the job. I immediately got behind their project," she says. The regional association was able to provide a bank loan guarantee, particularly since the API LsF was set up in a priority zone of Nantes.
Thanks to Ouvre-Boites 44, they were in contact with the organisers of Nantes’ trade fair for entrepreneurs and were able to use the general opening session to assess demand for sign language translation. "We want to go further by organising more comprehensive services for hearing-impaired and deaf people for the next show ", says Vanessa, who is also proud that the Paris trade fair for entrepreneurs has now also gained in accessibility. Over the past year, the cooperative has been able to prospect new clients after hiring an interpreter, and the creation of an administrative position is slated for 2019-2020.
In the future, Pietri and Branchereau plan to join a digital platform that will provide deaf people throughout France with a 24-hour videophone-interpretation service.

Have benefited

from a guarantee of

8 000€

Were supported by

France Active Pays de la Loire (FONDES)

By 2017

It’s here

Stories

[bloc_ajax params="{count:7,ess:0}"]

Eric LAUR

Founding CEO of AfB France
In 2012, Eric Laur, a truly social entrepreneur, created AfB France, inspired by a German concept that aims to limit the environmental impact of obsol…
All the stories >

Frédéric BARDEAU

President and co-founder of Simplon.co
Simplon.co is a computer coding school with a solidarity mission that identifies, trains and facilitates the integration of school-leavers in disadvan…
All the stories >

Stephan MARTINEZ

Creator of Moulinot
Created in 2013, this Paris-based company specialising in the recovery of organic waste from restaurants was the winner of the 2017 Grand Prix de la f…
All the stories >

Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)
Developed as a cooperative, Amélie Pietri and Vanessa Branchereau’s API LsF was created to promote the development of French sign language. Operati…
All the stories >

Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères
The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.
All the stories >

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages
Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the f…
All the stories >

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)
Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development …
All the stories >

Matthieu ESCUDIÉ

CEO of Eurofence
Eurofence SCOP staff are unlikely to forget the adventure of the relaunch of their own company, which was filing for bankruptcy. They were not sure it…
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Vincent PARET

CEO of Oasure
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The best waste is no waste.

Stephan MARTINEZ

Creator of Moulinot

Waste recovery

Created in 2013, this Paris-based company specialising in the recovery of organic waste from restaurants was the winner of the 2017 Grand Prix de la finance solidaire in the Societal Innovation category.

Paris – France

Waste recovery

Noting a lack of food waste separation in restaurants, Stephan Martinez decided to create Moulinot, a socially conscious company for processing bio-waste.

In 2007, he took a master composter training course in Belgium. Now, he knows all about bacteria, earthworms and organic waste. He can also tell you how much nitrogen and carbon each plant and soil type requires.

Much of the waste recovered by the company is processed to produce bio-gas for electricity and heating. The rest is treated with vermicomposting, using earthworms, to provide quality fertiliser. This “luxury” compost is redistributed to vegetable producers around the capital and amateur gardeners in the form of small bags of bespoke fertiliser.

A whole fleet of gas vehicles

With 22 employees and an innovative organisation perfectly suited to dense urban contexts, the company operates throughout Paris and its surrounding regions. Small vehicles collect waste seven days a week from 400 collection points and deposit them in conveniently located containers. Large trucks then take them to processing sites throughout the Île-de-France.

The organisation owes its effectiveness to several factors. Firstly, it operates sorting at source. Bins are made available to restaurant staff to promote selective sorting. Secondly, an on-board weighing system allows waste to be paid for on a per-kilo basis rather than with a flat rate. Lastly the organisation benefits from Stephan Martinez’s dedication as an ambassador for the benefits of sorting as a solution to waste.

Nearly 4,000 tonnes of bio-waste were collected in 2017 from local authorities and over a hundred catering professionals. That is double the 2016 amount. Collections are carried out in around a hundred school canteens to raise awareness of bio-waste recycling amongst staff and pupils.

A greener future

In December 2015, Moulinot landed a contract for waste collection from COP21 in Paris. Twenty tonnes of waste were collected and 100% repurposed. The company followed this up with a contract with the European Football Championship in 2016. Two major success stories.

But this socially-committed company is not stopping there. It has just opened Ile-de-France’s first composting plant for the recovery of food waste from restaurants.

Website

Have benefited

from an investment of

400 000€

A été accompagné par

France Active, PIE

By 2017

It’s here

Stories

[bloc_ajax params="{count:7,ess:0}"]

Eric LAUR

Founding CEO of AfB France
In 2012, Eric Laur, a truly social entrepreneur, created AfB France, inspired by a German concept that aims to limit the environmental impact of obsol…
All the stories >

Frédéric BARDEAU

President and co-founder of Simplon.co
Simplon.co is a computer coding school with a solidarity mission that identifies, trains and facilitates the integration of school-leavers in disadvan…
All the stories >

Stephan MARTINEZ

Creator of Moulinot
Created in 2013, this Paris-based company specialising in the recovery of organic waste from restaurants was the winner of the 2017 Grand Prix de la f…
All the stories >

Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)
Developed as a cooperative, Amélie Pietri and Vanessa Branchereau’s API LsF was created to promote the development of French sign language. Operati…
All the stories >

Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères
The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.
All the stories >

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages
Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the f…
All the stories >

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)
Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development …
All the stories >

Matthieu ESCUDIÉ

CEO of Eurofence
Eurofence SCOP staff are unlikely to forget the adventure of the relaunch of their own company, which was filing for bankruptcy. They were not sure it…
All the stories >

Vincent PARET

CEO of Oasure
Reconciling ecology and insertion ? Oasure proves this is possible by employing people in integration for innovative projects : water purification usi…
All the stories >


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Putting digital to work fighting for inclusion and employment

Frédéric BARDEAU

President and co-founder of Simplon.co

Teaching, training

Simplon.co is a computer coding school with a solidarity mission that identifies, trains and facilitates the integration of school-leavers in disadvantaged areas.

Montreuil – Seine-Saint-Denis – France

Teaching, training

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.

Website

Have benefited

from an investment of

1 000 000€

from a solidarity loan of

75 000€

Were supported by

France Active

By 2015

By 2016

It’s here

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Another life, another chance

Eric LAUR

Founding CEO of AfB France

Business services

In 2012, Eric Laur, a truly social entrepreneur, created AfB France, inspired by a German concept that aims to limit the environmental impact of obsolete IT equipment. In 2014, it won the Grand Prix de la finance solidaire.

Annecy – Haute-Savoie – France

Business services

Founded in Annecy, AfB France specialises in computer reconditioning that offers sustainable jobs to people with disabilities.

“Some had been looking for work for more than two years or were long-term unemployed. We are very proud to have helped them reintegrate the workforce”, says Eric Laur.

AfB France collects end-of-cycle IT assets from local authorities and key accounts. The company sorts, checks and repairs the equipment before giving it a second life. “We sell 70% of the equipment collected in our stores, via the Internet or to wholesalers,” explains Laur.

Laur discovered the business model in Germany, on a trip taken after he himself had lost his job. Laur was supported by the German branch in the beginning as well as Adises Active, France Active in the Pays de Savoie. In 2016, France Active provided capital as a long-term investor and became part of its governance. “The support of a solidarity finance-provider like France Active is precious,” explains Eric Laur. “It began before the company was founded and has continued through every stage of our development“.

The network has now supported the company’s scale-up and the creation of two new AfB France sites in Caen and Grenoble in addition to Annecy. “We want to work more closely with our partners to help create local jobs,” concludes Eric Laur.

Website

Have benefited

from a guarantee of

90 000€

from an investment of

350 000€

from a solidarity loan of

110 000€

from a grant of

40 000€

Were supported by

France Active Savoie Mont Blanc
France Active Auvergne-Rhône Alpes
France Active

By 2016
By 2015
By 2012

It’s here

Stories

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Eric LAUR

Founding CEO of AfB France
In 2012, Eric Laur, a truly social entrepreneur, created AfB France, inspired by a German concept that aims to limit the environmental impact of obsol…
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Frédéric BARDEAU

President and co-founder of Simplon.co
Simplon.co is a computer coding school with a solidarity mission that identifies, trains and facilitates the integration of school-leavers in disadvan…
All the stories >

Stephan MARTINEZ

Creator of Moulinot
Created in 2013, this Paris-based company specialising in the recovery of organic waste from restaurants was the winner of the 2017 Grand Prix de la f…
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Vanessa BRANCHEREAU and Amélie PIETRI

Creators of API LsF (Professional Agency for Sign Language Interpreters)
Developed as a cooperative, Amélie Pietri and Vanessa Branchereau’s API LsF was created to promote the development of French sign language. Operati…
All the stories >

Jules and Antonin STRAUMANN

Creators of Au Pré des Frères
The Straumann brothers produce and sell organic and diversified vegetables, promoting little-known varieties in particular.
All the stories >

Alexandre SCHMITT and Christine ODINOT

Co-founders of the Maison des Sages
Since its inception in 2014, La Maison des Sages has offered an innovative alternative to shared housing for people with Alzheimer’s disease, in the f…
All the stories >

Bernadette PAUL-CORNU and Jean RUCH

Co-Directors of Familles Solidaires (Family Solidarity Association)
Familles Solidaires was created five years ago by a group of family caregivers of disabled people. The goal: to support and encourage the development …
All the stories >

Matthieu ESCUDIÉ

CEO of Eurofence
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Vincent PARET

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