The Caisse d’Epargne sets out to encourage micro-enterprises and SMEs to “adopt digital solutions”

The Caisse d’Epargne has teamed up with the Adopte le digital (“Adopt Digital Solutions”) initiative with a view to boosting the growth of micro-enterprises and small- and medium-sized companies by helping their managers succeed in their digital transition.

It was on January 14^th at the Station F startup campus in Paris that the Adopte le digital initiative was officially launched in the presence of Mounir Mahjoubi, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, reporting to the Minister for Economic Affairs & Finance and to the Minister of Public Accounts & Action. The Caisse d’Epargne, alongside Facebook, Allianz France, and the Greater Lyon conurbation, is a premium partner of the operation.

Two key observations inspired the creation of Adopte le digital: 99% of French companies are micro-enterprises or SMEs chiefly located in the regions; more than 80% of their managers do not give priority status to their digital transformation. To respond to this challenge, Adopte le digital set itself the mission of educating managers about this major issue. How? “By going out to meet them, in the regions, with the help of a bus. We provide a series of short, highly instructive training tools free of charge, along with a number of extremely practical solutions allowing them to take their first steps toward their digital transformation,” explains Lalée Pinoncély, founder of Adopte le digital.

“We need these companies to grow, develop and conquer new markets, and digital solutions represent one of the drivers enabling us to achieve these goals,” says Mounir Mahjoubi, one of the earliest supporters of the Adopte le digital initiative, which forms an integral part of the France Num program, a platform bringing together companies and digital transformation ‘activators’ dedicated to speeding up the development of micro-enterprises and SMEs.

Moving faster in favor of the economy

In its desire to work as closely as possible with micro-enterprises and SMEs, the Caisse d’Epargne naturally joined this initiative. “This project corresponds to two goals pursued by the Caisse d’Epargne: the first is to support companies through their digital transition; the second is to promote entrepreneurship among women,” explains Fabrice Gourgeonnet, Director of the Caisse d’Epargne Development, Bank for Regional Decision-Makers, at BPCE.

“This partnership is perfectly in line with the different actions taken by the Caisse d’Epargne in support of digitalization and the development of micro-enterprises and SMEs: our innovation branches in the regions, links forged with local business incubators and accelerators and, of course, our Néo Business program*. It is a great source of pride to stand alongside, through this partnership, a number of public and private digital players who pursue the same ambition as us: to help our economy to succeed and progress,” concludes Fabrice Gourgeonnet.

The Adopte le digital bus will kick off its tour in the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region. Corporate account managers, Innovation managers, and staff from the B612 business incubator/accelerator from the Caisse d’Epargne Rhône Alpes will be mobilized from January 15 to 25. What is more, the start-ups supported by B612 will be presented to managers wanting to adopt digital solutions. Approximately one hundred entrepreneurs have already signed up, but the initiative wants to reach 300 managers in all. Similar tours should then be organized throughout France in 2019.

* Designed to meet the support requirements of start-ups and innovating companies, Néo Business relies, in particular, on the regionally-based innovation managers as well as on a number of partner networks specializing in providing support for, or financing, innovation.