Renault invests in two new inclusive mobility projects
16 September 2013 16:30
- As part of its social business program Renault Mobiliz, Renault began co-financing the development of two cooperative companies of collective interest (SCIC) in July 2013. The companies, Chauffeur&Go and MobilEco, are helping people in difficulty to integrate the workforce.
- Alongside its financial investment, Renault will assist these two companies by providing access to internal Renault resources such as engineers, sales and marketing teams, lawyers, and finance specialists. Renault may also offer them opportunities for growth.
- Any profits from these ventures will be reinvested in other projects to promote inclusive mobility and not used to pay dividends.
“ With Mobiliz Invest, Renault supports social business projects to help people at the bottom of the income pyramid. The Group sees this as a new way to carrying out its mission of promoting sustainable mobility for all. When these projects also make it easier for people to enter the workforce – as Chauffeur&Go and MobilEco do – the social impact is multiplied and everyone benefits ”, says Claire Martin , Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility, Renault Group.
Chauffeur&Go: creating jobs through the micro-franchising of drivers
Located in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux and Toulouse, Chauffeur&Go provides drivers without a car. These services are designed for professionals who occasionally need a driver and private individuals who cannot drive. The eighty drivers, many of them from the ranks of the long-term unemployed, are “micro-franchised” and members of the Chauffeur&Go cooperative. To rapidly increase the number of Chauffeur&Go microfranchises across all of France, Renault has invested €125,000 in this project.
MobilEco: professional integration through the sale, rental and maintenance of electric vehicles
Based in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south-eastern France, MobilEco is a work integration social enterprise modeled on other successful experiments with eco-mobility in France and the rest of Europe. It rents and sells electric-assist bicycles and electric scooters and cars to private individuals and professionals. It also offers maintenance and training services, sets up eco-mobility fleets for companies, and manages mobility centers. Renault has invested €50,000 in MobilEco.
Renault Mobiliz, a complete program to provide everyone with mobility
The aim of the Mobiliz program, the first social business initiative by a car manufacturer, is to facilitate social and professional integration for individuals in difficulty by providing them with access to mobility. This program is developed in cooperation with NGOs, educational institutions and the public sector. Introduced first in France, it has three strands: socially responsible garages (garages in the Renault network that voluntarily offer products and services at cost price to people identified by social services as in need); the investment company Mobiliz Invest (funding for innovative, inclusive mobility projects); and sponsorship of the Social Business Enterprise & Poverty Chair at the business school HEC Paris (participation in teaching, research and the development of social business solutions to fight poverty and exclusion).
MOBILIZ INVEST: HOW IT WORKS With €5 million of capital from Renault, Mobiliz Invest s.a.s provides funding to companies developing innovative, high-impact mobility solutions that will improve living conditions for persons suffering from social and professional exclusion. Financing may be requested for any project having this objective, regardless of the company’s legal structure, at the following address: contact@renault-mobiliz.com . An investment committee made up of Renault executives and independent experts who are specialists in social business and venture capital selects the best projects on the basis of two main criteria: economic viability and broad-scale social impact. The amount of financing can range from €50,000 to €500,000. It is provided either through the acquisition of a minority equity interest in the company or through debt for a period of five to seven years |
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