Protecting the entrepreneurs’ journey 

At France Active, we work with our partners to enable committed entrepreneurs to start businesses under favourable conditions. By securing their entrepreneurial journeys, facilitating their access to financing, sharing risks, and supporting their skill development, we create a framework of trust that makes projects with social, environmental, and regional impact possible.

Making projects possible and ensuring their success

Starting a business is always a gamble, with its share of risks and challenges, especially when you’re starting out without a safety net. Yet 80% to 90% of entrepreneurs say they would do it all over again if given the chance. This is especially true when it comes to leading a project with a strong social, regional, or environmental focus. 

By providing them with access to bank loans on favourable terms and supporting them every step of the way, we empower committed entrepreneurs to bring their projects to life in a secure manner. This is especially true for those who are most distant from entrepreneurship: young people, women, and individuals who are unemployed or underemployed, particularly those from priority neighbourhoods or rural areas. 

Our services and solutions: 

•    provide guarantees on bank loans, 
•    protect people and assets by limiting or eliminating personal guarantees and commitments, 
•    provide support during the financing round. 

In addition, our advisory and training services focus on what entrepreneurs can do to limit the risks associated with their projects and thereby ensure their long-term sustainability. 

Support at key stages of the projects

Together with our public and private partners, we foster a virtuous entrepreneurial cycle. We do this while ensuring that risks are managed and shared among the entrepreneur, France Active, banks, institutional investors, and professional networks that partner with us. 

Together, we fulfil a mission of public interest: 

• by fighting entrepreneurial precariousness, 
• by supporting projects that have a positive impact on social cohesion, the environment, and local communities, 
• by promoting the integration of the most vulnerable individuals through employment. 

This collective effort enables us to deploy solutions and services that support committed entrepreneurs at key stages of their journey. 

The bank guarantee: accessing credit on favourable terms 

In addition to other financing solutions, France Active guarantees reduce or eliminate the need for personal guarantees required by banks. This provides entrepreneurs with access to the financing they need to get started. 

To fulfill our role as a guarantor for the banking partners who place their trust in us, we draw on public funds—from the Regions and the Social Cohesion Fund, which utilizes funds allocated by the Ministry of Labor and the European Union. 

France Active Garantie’s operations are counter-guaranteed by Bpifrance and the European Investment Fund, which help increase leverage while expanding operations.

For every 1 euro allocated from the Social Cohesion Fund > 30 euros in bank credit is granted to entrepreneurs who would otherwise not have been able to access a bank loan.

Accès+: a springboard for vulnerable populations 

Financial literacy, digital literacy, entrepreneur protection, and social engagement are the topics covered in the Accès+ webinars. These sessions are developed with the support of the Ministry of Labor and in cooperation with banking institutions and solidarity networks such as Entrepreneurs de la Cité, among others. The target audience includes entrepreneurs who lack access to bank financing and/or come from the most vulnerable regions.