What is an honour loan?
The zero interest honour loan, which does not require a guarantee, benefits from an endowment from Bpifrance and makes it possible to strengthen a start-up's personal contributions and equity capital or to finance the prototyping of a product, for example. It is granted by KEDGE's internal approval committee, chaired by Benjamin Bitton, a KEDGE graduate and founder of 2C Finance, assisted by 19 members representing the entrepreneurial ecosystem of KEDGE, IGEU and Bpifrance, including:
- Stéphanie Chrétien, Partner, DEMETER
- Sophie Engster, Co-founder, Director General, CHAMBERLAN
- Nicolas Liogier, Director General, VEEPEE Voyage et Loisir
- Jean-François Thunet, President, AMARIS CONSULTING
- François Aïssa Touazi, Director General, ARDIAN
- Paul Varasso, Capital Risk Analyst, FOUNDERS FUTURE
KEDGE is the first of the Top 10 Grandes Ecoles de Commerce to offer this financing scheme. It relies on the expertise of IGEU, which has been managing around ten funds since 2012, including the one launched by KEDGE.
"For KEDGE, this loan of honour is a powerful step, representative of our positioning in terms of entrepreneurship. We want to give an extra dimension to our support for start-ups. KEDGE has chosen to financially support each of the selected projects. Consequently, each year, KEDGE will contribute 100,000 euros to the fund, and we are delighted to be working in full collaboration with IGEU and our corporate partners," said Anil Benard-Dende, KEDGE Deputy Director General and member of the Accreditation Committee.
Benjamin Bitton, President of the Accreditation Commitee, added "As a graduate of KEDGE, it is a real pleasure to support the creation of this first loan fund. I am in constant contact with start-ups, as treasurer of France Digitale, member of French Tech Grand Paris and founder of 2C Finance, and I am delighted to share my expertise with the other members of the committee to accelerate the development of KEDGE start-ups via this financing tool".
"We are particularly pleased to welcome the KEDGE fund, the 10th fund under management of Initiative Grandes Ecoles et Universités (IGEU) for its 10th year of existence. There is no doubt that it will follow in the footsteps of the 320 companies and their 680 founding entrepreneurs supported by the funds managed by IGEU since its creation for a total of €11.5 million in loans. The loans are a tremendous boost for these start-ups, creating jobs - more than 1,500 in the first two years of the companies' life - and generating a leverage effect of more than 6 on other financing. Long life and much success to the KEDGE fund!" said Jean-Yves Gilet, President of the IGEU.
"The preparation, selection and approval process for the honour loans set up by KEDGE is exemplary and the first approval committee has lived up to expectations. We wish the selected start-ups every success. We believe in the virtue of the honour loans that show confidence in the entrepreneurs selected and whose repayments enable other project holders to be financed. The quality of the selection process, from the incubator to the approval committee, has resulted in a survival rate of over 90% in five years," stressed Christel Mokretari, IGEU's Deputy Director.
At the beginning of May, following the audition of twelve candidate start-ups from the KEDGE Entrepreneurship programme, the approval committee designated the first two winners of the 2022 edition.
And the winners are ...
Tastyn, the food corner your employees will love
Created by Valentin Mercier and Richard Beausse. Their goal? To facilitate access to "good food" by providing fresh products from the best "food" brands, 24/7, directly in companies, campuses or coworking spaces.
Very good products from strict sourcing (reusable or recyclable containers, fresh products without additives or preservatives, made in France and as locally as possible) accessible all the time and easily thanks to the Tastyn connected fridge.
"This honour loan is a launch pad for the rest of the Tastyn adventure. It will allow us to accelerate the deployment of new connected fridges, strengthen the team and work on the brand image. But it will also enable us to leverage other funding in the weeks and months to come." Valentin Mercier
Tyllt, an innovative service that reinvents rental deposits to give complete peace of mind
Created by Frédéric Cirier. Its goal? To transform this obstacle into a simple, transparent and secure solution.
Whether you are a rental professional (of holiday accommodation or any other property) or even an individual, with Tyllt you can offer your clients a new experience in collecting, depositing and monitoring their "deposits" and you can rent with complete peace of mind.
As a tenant, individual or professional, you can also join the Tyllt community and offer to pay your deposits with your Tyllt account, particularly for your holiday rentals.
Whatever your needs, if you wish to secure your rentals, the Tyllt team will be delighted to discuss them with you.
"We applied for the Kedge loan with the same mindset: the desire to present our services, to meet and exchange with professionals. And, after three selection stages (including two presentations to juries of professionals), we are very proud to be able to benefit from it! For us, it represents much more than a cash injection and leverage for others. It is also a mark of confidence on the part of these juries, new and very interesting contacts and an additional contribution to the development of our reputation." Frédéric Cirier
The entrepreneurs were evaluated according to an analysis grid looking at the following criteria:
- Innovative projects responding to a major problem
- Promoting a CSR approach, with a positive impact
- Projects that have developed a first Minimum Viable Product (MVP), with a first approach to the market and customers
Overall, 60,000 euros in loans were granted by the committee to support the businesses' development.