To address societal and environmental challenges, Mirova Foundation—Mirova’s endowment fund—is providing support totalling €2.1 million over three years in partnership with the France Active movement to strengthen cooperative ties amongst the network of companies that belong to the SSE (Social and Solidarity Economy) and expand their access to solidarity funding. This initiative makes Mirova Foundation one of the main private-sector financial partners of France Active.
On the ground and alongside locals across France, the many associations and companies that make up the SSE are addressing the crises affecting our society to make it more inclusive and sustainable. Some of these entities find it challenging to look ahead to future, and thus approach financing of their initiatives effectively. This is a shared observation by France Active and Mirova, who have worked hand in hand for years to support investment in the SSE.
In a prevailing context of inflation and the multiple crises our society is experiencing, this new partnership between two major entities in the sector will help SSE members forge ahead with next-level ambitions thanks to support from Mirova Foundation.
Marseille, in France’s Southern Region, was the location chosen by Mirova Foundation and France Active to seal their partnership agreement on the 13th of March, a region where companies and associations are especially active in promoting the development of the SSE.
With a three-year horizon, the slate of actions supported by the endowment fund affords France Active the resources to address the needs of SSE non-profits and companies seeking to enhance job creation and promote environmental transition in new ways.
This partnership has three main components:
- Awareness and training initiatives to support access to socially responsible investment funds for entities that create significant positive social and societal impact.
- Thematic calls for projects designed to promote development of the social and inclusive activities spearheaded by SSE non-profits and companies.
- Support for launching communities of committed corporates, an avenue inspired by the appeal of Claude Alphandéry, a former Resistance fighter and iconic figure of the SSE. Last November, for his hundredth birthday, he called for 100 collectives of inclusive entrepreneurs to develop their cooperative efforts over the next two years to multiply initiatives addressing their regional social and environmental challenges. The first such community was launched on the occasion of the signature of this partnership between France Active and Mirova Foundation.
Pierre-René Lemas Chairman of France Active With Mirova Foundation, the term partner comes into its own. We are linked by a shared conviction of the urgent need for action on social and climate crises. With this new partnership, we are giving our partnership new impetus, a strong signal to players in the social and solidarity economy. For us, providing access to financing so the most committed non-profit associations and companies can achieve their own transformation and supporting them in a forward-looking investment approach are two critical priorities.
Philippe Zaouati President of Mirova Foundation and CEO of Mirova Mirova is one of the heavyweights of solidarity finance in France, and with this new commitment by our endowment fund, we are not only strengthening our bond with France Active, a long-time partner of Mirova, we are continuing, via philanthropy, our mission of providing financing for projects that have significant social or environmental impact. We deeply believe that the SSE is a crucial tool for transforming our economy in a fair and sustainable way. We must help it do so, by standing by projects all over France.
France Active and Mirova, a long-standing partnership
For more than 25 years, France Active and Mirova have been working together to foster the development of companies in the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE). As France Active’s leading private investor, Mirova mobilises household savings earmarked for solidarity, collected from enlightened citizens, to address social and environmental issues. In this way, the pair have enabled the creation and growth of several thousand SSE entities.