The founders

In 1960, a group of retailers from Niort started Macif with the support of the market traders' association. They were quickly joined by employees and later the trade associations and professional bodies for the self-employed.

A central part of the social economy, which was created by the mutualist movement, Macif is an insurer with a difference:

- Macif is nonprofit.

- Neither investors nor the state own it.

- Decision-making is in the hands of the policyholders, who are represented by elected directors.

Previously open only to those working in retailing and industry, Macif has since built on its excellent reputation by widening its bylaws to include employees and the self-employed in other sectors.

More information: www.macif.fr

Read the interview with Gérard Andreck

Founded in 1964 with the introduction of lunch vouchers in France, the Chèque Déjeuner Group has managed its growth by anticipating society's needs and expectations.  The Chèque Déjeuner Group is today a diversified personal-services organization based on the use of an innovative and secure means of payment (Chèque Déjeuner, Chèque Domicile, Chèque Lire, Chèque Disque, Chèque Culture, and Chèque de Services).

As part of its expansion, the Chèque Déjeuner Group has been setting up subsidiaries in Europe since 1990 and pursuing a strategy of company creations and acquisitions since 1995 that builds on its experience in vouchers and anticipates society's social and cultural needs.

The Chèque Déjeuner Group has three main divisions today:

- Vouchers. The vouchers of the Chèque Déjeuner Group have become an important part of the social and cultural policies of companies and public-sector employers.  Recipients use Chèque Déjeuner vouchers in a variety of areas in their daily lives.

- Services. Smart cards, new payment systems, personal services, etc. are all part of the day to day work of the Research and Development team.  The Chèque Déjeuner Group is a major player in the development of service solutions by providing complete systems and packages as well as support for direct operators of these services.

- International.  The Chèque Déjeuner Group today has companies in France, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

More information: www.groupe-cheque-dejeuner.com

Read the interview with Jacques Landriot

The sole mission of Maif, a mutual insurance company, is the satisfaction of its members.  Set up by teachers in 1934, Maif is today a large insurance group serving a broad market of individuals and organizations that share its values.  It is the leading insurance company in the nonprofit sector.

Maif has 2,533,000 members.  Any member can actively participate in the mutual society's decision-making process and, by acting responsibly, help guarantee its future.

Since its founding, Maif has balanced its business activities with its ethical values and demonstrated that society can be envisioned differently.  Putting people first is the guiding principle in the company's relationship with its policyholders.  This is reflected by

- the comprehensive protection afforded by its policies and services;

- the variety of products covering the risks that policyholders face throughout their lives and meeting the needs of their plans;

- the quality of the relationship maintained with members.

"As both policyholders and those responsible for the insurance policies offered, the members of a mutual society are only well insured if they are good insurers."

Edmond Proust, founding Chairman of Maif.

More information: www.maif.fr

Read the interview with Roger Belot

Crédit Coopératif occupies a unique place in the French banking sector and plays a major role in the social and solidarity-based economy in France and Europe.  Created in the late 19th century as a cooperative to provide access to loans for its members, it has a long history of working with businesses and nonprofit organizations as well as with retail customers to whom it offers a range of socially responsible savings and investment products.

Structured around a national bank, Crédit Coopératif is a responsive banking group on a human scale and has numerous partners.  With branches throughout France wherever its customers are located, it can also handle their foreign transactions.  Part of the Banque Populaire Group and one of its parent companies, it shares the group's infrastructure and expertise and thus has the advantage of access to the resources of a large group.

As a cooperative bank, Crédit Coopératif is owned by its customers, most of whom are organizations.  Their representatives make up the board of directors.  The bank maintains close ties with its preferred customers and their organizations: SMEs, cooperative firms and groups, nonprofit organizations and public-interest services in a wide range of sectors (healthcare and social services, arts and culture, public housing, mutual societies, mixed-economy companies, employer-union organizations, etc.) and retail customers.

More information: www.credit-cooperatif.fr

Read the interview with Jean-Claude Detilleux

Ides was created in 1983 because the major organizations in the social economy wanted to invest part of their reserves in helping other enterprises in the social economy, which has structural financing needs.  Since 1989, Ides has managed several government guarantee funds: FGIF (guarantee fund for starting up, buying out and expanding businesses run by women); FGIE (guarantee fund for social enterprises – since 1991); FGAP (guarantee fund for developing sheltered workshops – since 1997).  FGIE lends directly to social enterprises and has backed loans provided by ADIE since 1996 as well as the social development schemes of Nord-Pas de Calais and Bordeaux since 1999.

In 1990, mutual societies, CG SCOP and Crédit Coopératif's Caisse Centrale created the Esfin holding company, the parent company of Ides.  These partners also created Esfin Participations, a venture capital firm that finances ethical SMEs.  In the past few years, the Esfin group has expanded by investing in the creation of two new subsidiaries, Spot and Soficatra.  In 1999, it set up FCPR Fontanot Particpations.

More information: www.esfin-ides.com

Read the interview with François Soulage