Supporting business
Objectives:
- Support start-ups
- Develop business sector awareness of environmental priorities and issues
Priority:
- Offer tailored help for self-made entrepreneurs
Highlights:
- Société Générale and the EIB (European Investment Bank) signed a
€ 300 million credit line to finance the creation of SMEs in January 2009 - Relationships created with close to 29,700 start-ups in less than 3 years, i.e. 82% des of accounts opened in 2008*
Supporting start-ups in France
More than 327,000 companies were created in France in 2008, an increase of 1.8% vs 2007. 40% of businesses created are due to job seekers setting up on their own. With an average of around 1.6 jobs per company created, over 500,000 jobs are generated each year. Société Générale aims to become a genuine partner for start-ups. Providing start-ups with a specialist network to support their business boosts their chances of survival by 20% over five years (surviving companies after 3 years = 52%). Société Générale's aim is to use these networks and promote them among its numerous start-up clients. Over the years, the bank has forged special links with:- CCI Entreprendre en France: * created in 1995 by France’s chamber of commerce and industry and banking profession; its advisors provide advice and concrete help to start-ups and deal with over 50,000 projects each year.
- France Initiative1 *: an association that works alongside local authorities, institutional investors and businesses in promoting new start-ups. Its network is made up of 245 local initiative platforms spread throughout France which mobilize local economic resources in sponsoring and funding start-ups (loans on trust with no guarantee or interest).
- Réseau des Boutiques de Gestion: * an association whose aim is to support the creation and long-term success of businesses and jobs. The network currently has 400 reception points, 750 voluntary workers and 920 start-up advisors.
- Adie: * the French association for the right to economic initiative which assists those marginalized from the labour market and banking system in creating their own company and employment.
- Fondation de la 2ème chance: * a public interest foundation which sponsors and subsidises those in professional or social difficulty in setting up their own business.
In fact, 22,8%2 of the bank's business customers are young businesses that are less than 3 years old.
Conferences and training
In 2008, the Bank decided to step up its initiatives for people seeking to start new businesses by launching the “Coup de pouce aux jeunes pousses” (A helping hand for start-ups) programme. As a result, 26 free regional training conferences* were attended by more than 3,000 project owners of all ages and from all backgrounds, and enabled the local start-up support networks to highlight their advisory and upstream/downstream monitoring role. The conferences were also an opportunity to bring in “networking” specialists to discuss how to succeed in creating your own business thanks to a network of contacts. What is more, Société Générale also contributed to a guide entitled "100 conseils de Pro pour créer son entreprise" (100 tips from professionals on how to set up your own business) which was given out to participants who also receive a quarterly e-newsletter.Financing future entrepreneurs
Its determination to help means that Société Générale's start-up loans activity has increased 2% to stand at 10.3%3.*In 2009, Société Générale fully intends to continue to play a major role in the start-up market through the welcome and advice that it provides for all projects and by working in close collaboration with the different support networks. Its ambition is to play a decisive role in helping entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. Given a recognised status at the end of 2008, entrepreneurs are assisted and advised by the bank which also has a dedicated promotional offer for their business accounts.
Because its goal is to be become involved as far upstream as possible in the start-up process, Société Générale is committed to assisting young people from the moment they begin their apprenticeships, providing trainees with a craft apprentice loan to finance their projects while they study.
The bank also works with Meilleurs Ouvriers de France to promote apprenticeship via the nationwide contest, “Un des meilleurs apprentis de France” (One of the best apprentices in France) to find the top apprentices soon to be fully-fledged members of France’s various craft industries. Finally, the bank has taken part in the main start-up trade fairs for several years now (Salon de la micro-entreprise, Franchise Expo, Salon des entrepreneurs in Paris, Lyon and Nantes, etc.), where it provides advice and assistance on the huge number of potential projects each year.
Integrating the environment in real estate leasing
In April 2008, Société Générale's leasing subsidiary, Sogébail, and CertiVéa (a subsidiary of French scientific and technical centre, CSTB) signed a partnership to contribute their respective expertise in supporting and assisting SMEs in integrating environmental criteria.Sustainable construction requires specific work and resources and often means higher costs. To help remove some of the obstacles and in partnership with CertiVéA, Sogébail offers SMEs:
- financing at preferential rates for new constructions that comply with French environmental quality standard, NF Bâtiments Tertiaires – Démarche HQE®,
- special rates on fire and construction insurance on the projects being financed.
* Verified by Ernst & Young (see Statutory Auditors' Report )
NOTES
- To assist the France Initiative network in finding volunteers, Société Générale notified 1.5 million of its individual customers of the "Semaine du Bénévolat Economique" (Economic voluntary work week) organised by the association which proved extremely beneficial.
- At end 2008
- At the end of october 2008