When the office becomes a business
Submit a telephone number of young people living in small job and the homeless. Selling homemade chocolate while respecting the rights of producers of cocoa and employing people in rehabilitation. Eric Chatry, 42, associated with Francis de Pierrebourg, 34, and William Hermitte, 27, have one thing in common: they bring their expertise to the service contractor's office.
The first two have launched the Reconnect partnership that puts technology at the service of the poor and left behind. The third one created society Puerto Cacao, which has two shops in the 17th and 12th arrondissements in Paris.
Both projects are supported by the network Undertake Paris headed by Frank Hughes and chaired by Gonzague de Blignieres who is also chairman of the fund, Barclays Private Equity France.First association selected by the network, Reconnect has received a loan of Honor 25 000. Puerto Cacao 20,000 euros.
The three founders have followed a classic. Eric and William Chatry Hermitte graduate from ESSEC. Francois de Pierrebourg of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.
The first worked for Danone, L'Oreal, McKinsey, LVMH. He changed his life and found volunteering in a nursing home for Catholic Relief homeless. The second was launched in the trade fair as it exits from ESSEC in 2006. The third familiar with the functioning of associations and social workers. He has been employed for 8 years of the SOS group is also involved in many drug addicts as ill-housed.
A socially responsible fund
All three have a common concern: they want to reconcile ethics and corporate social and economic efficiency.Eric Chatry which has received support from the State, the Ile-de-France, the Paris City Council and mayor of Bordeaux, is testing its new telephone service before launching a large scale. He circulated by associations that pays 10 euro per line per quarter. It creates a society that creates new services and new technology products for the most disadvantaged and filing patents. His research efforts could enable it to qualify as a young innovative company.
William Hermitte admit his difficulties to meet its commitments and requirements of investors who finance the development of its business.
Surfing on this new generation of social entrepreneurs, network Undertake Paris prepares to launch a socially responsible funds.This PIF "Value Undertake Ile-de-France" will take stakes of 50,000 to 300,000 euros in young companies winning network Entrepreneurship. "We want to mobilize investors by giving the honor to take the concept and entrepreneur," explains Gonzague de Blignieres. Investors in the FIP undertake to respect a very strict rule: they will not affect gains in companies which the fund has invested. These will support the operation of Entrepreneurship Network Ile-de-France. Further evidence that investors are willing to change the rules while refusing mere philanthropy.