The financial backer behind great stories!
Since 1994, France Active Airdie Occitanie has been helping people invent new opportunities by supporting and financing business projects that bring both value and meaning.
On September 20 and 21, Airdie Occitanie demonstrated its commitment by setting up a “village of committed entrepreneurs” at Montpellier’s Marché du Lez, bringing together 50 exhibitors to showcase local businesses and celebrate the association’s 30th anniversary.
This inspiring, free event, called So Local Fest, was not only a first, but also a great opportunity to share its vision of a more respectful, supportive and sustainable society, and to take stock of its action in favor of the territory it covers: the five departments of Eastern Occitanie.
Since it was created, France Active Airdie Occitanie Est has backed nearly 13,500 business projects, representing a total of 31,000 jobs created or preserved. The association has granted €212 million in loans and guarantees, enabling some of its beneficiaries to consolidate their finances. Its board of directors includes Montpellier Métropole, the Hérault Department, and Occitanie Region, along with Banque Populaire du Sud, Caisse d’Épargne Languedoc-Roussillon, BPI, BDT, and Oc’via.
The association is also involved in public policies concerning employment and business creation for priority target groups, and is therefore also particularly active with entrepreneurs in Priority Urban Neighborhoods (Quartiers Prioritaires de la Ville), as well as with people receiving RSA or minimum social benefits.
The same applies to its efforts for the Social and Solidarity Economy. “Every euro invested is one more stone in the creation of a fairer economy, rooted in the local community,” said Patrick Jacquot, Chairman of the association and Chairman and CEO of La Mutuelle des Motards insurance.
“Thank you for standing by those who believe that the Republic should give the same rights to everyone, everywhere. There is no destiny or discrimination when it comes to starting a business,” added Michaël Delafosse, Mayor of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Metropole, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the So Local Fest.
Innovation is the ability to invent the future. Leveraging this idea, France Active Airdie Occitanie has actively supported: La Cagette, Montpellier’s first non-profit cooperative and participative supermarket; Boc d’Oc, a brand of freshly prepared dishes in jars made from local Occitanie products, respectful of the environment; École Antonia, a bilingual school practicing teaching with meaning; La Cavale, a cooperative bookshop whose customers are members of the cooperative; the Montpellier start-up Peulh Fulani, winner of the French Tech Tremplin award and assisted by Montpellier BIC in its early stages; Oc’Consigne, supported by Montpellier Métropole; and the Roul’en Cœur association, to name but a few.
“We are showing the financing sector that generous, green projects are very often also economically viable and can be extremely successful,” concludes Lætitia Léonard, Director of France Active Airdie Occitanie.
