Investing to act, with our shareholders

Climate change and digital transition are impacting or will impact our entire society. We will have to face the challenge of employability. A new generation of entrepreneurs has decided to seize the potential of business to generate a strong social impact: circular economy, inclusion, sustainable food, access to housing or health, etc. For 20 years, we have been gathering a community of committed investors to support their development.

Human capital and inclusion are at the heart of our investment strategy

With funds 100% dedicated to social entrepreneurship in Europe, our investment thesis puts human capital and social inclusion at its heart.
With funding ranging from €200K to €2M, we invest in and support over 30 entrepreneurs.
Our investment strategy is based on 2 axis:

• Enabling everyone to find their place in society: integration through employment, inclusion of people with disabilities, training, education, upgrading of local professions
• Making fundamental goods and services accessible to all: sustainable food, access to housing and the fight against fuel poverty, financial inclusion, social and health support

To meet the social challenges, we invest to accelerate the scaling up of these companies and increase their impact. We provide concrete proof that it is possible to invest in these projects with a reasonable financial return, but with a strong social impact.

Our approach is practical, concrete and based on impact measurement

We are investors for impact. Impact is monitored and valued in the same way as financial results, thanks to a methodology that has been developed and tested since 2016. The impact monitoring criteria are designed jointly with the entrepreneurs. Measuring impact helps to make investment decisions and serves as a monitoring tool for companies. This approach makes it possible to assess:

• The intentionality in the company’s mission and the understanding of the challenges.
• The alignment of governance with the mission and the ambition of impact.
• The taking into account of positive and negative externalities.

Our added value: patient capital and support

• Patient capital: these companies need patient investors to deploy their impacts. Our model gives priority to social impact and a long-term return coherent with the social impact objective of our funds.
• Support: we provide our portfolio companies with a community of skills and partners. Each entrepreneur is supported in his governance by a manager, former manager, or sector expert. In this way, we have developed proven expertise in supporting the scaling up of high-potential social enterprises.

A community of committed investors

To achieve this ambition, we mobilise our investors, current and former company executives, and specialists in specific sectors or themes to support these entrepreneurs over the long term. They are members of our Investment Committee, which is responsible for making investment decisions and following up on our investments.
“The Committee pays close attention to the social and environmental impact of all the companies in the portfolio, especially those with new or additional financing needs.”
Guy Portmann, Chairman of the Investment Committee