Adie - Association pour le droit à l'initiative économique

Emmanuel LANDAIS

4 Boulevard Poissonnière
75009 Paris - France
Tel / Fax :++33 - (0)1 49 33 19 00
Contact us

www.adie.org

Adie was created in France in 1989 by Maria Nowak with the aim of adapting the microcredit system to the French environment. It was founded in recognition of the need for access to capital and the removal of administrative constraints for creating self-employment. Its mission is to finance and support unemployed individuals who wish to create their own business but do not qualify for a standard bank loan. Furthermore, Adie uses its experience to propose improvements to the existing regulatory framework governing microfinance and microenterprises.

 

As of December 2009, 481 staff members worked in 19 regional Adie offices, 130 sub-offices and 190 ‘stand-by spots’ spread over the French territory and overseas. In addition, more than 1,530 volunteers support Adie entrepreneurs and about 50,000 people contact Adie every year.

 

Adie disburses loans of up to €5,500 at a market rate, start-up grants funded by the government or by the local authorities and non-interest bearing subordinated loans. The association provides approximately 70 % of its loans to new businesses and 30% to existing enterprises. Individual financing generally does not exceed €11,000. Adie also provides business support pre-loan, and post-loan during the whole period of reimbursement of the loan, i.e. during an average of two years. This support consists of individual coaching and group training sessions in administrative procedures, management and accounting, marketing and banking.

 

Adie finances a variety of projects. The main criteria are the capacity and motivation of microentrepreneurs as well as the feasibility of the project. Loans are granted by a credit committee made up of volunteers (business and finance professionals) and staff members. A majority of the projects approved are for microenterprises in the trade and service sectors: website developers, home decorators, florists, grocers, electricians, artisans, bars and restaurants, architects, photographers, etc.

 

In 2009, Adie disbursed nearly 14,581 loans. Since its inception in 1989 the association has disbursed 81,014 microloans, financed more than 65,527 new enterprises and created more than 78,632 jobs. The survival rate of new enterprises funded by Adie after three years is of 57%, which equals the national average, and 80% of the persons Adie supported in the last five years have left welfare schemes and become reintegrated into the labour market.