Blue Bees
Blue Bees is a French crowdfunding platform that enables participatory loans and donations for ecological transition projects, primarily serving small-scale sustainable agriculture and food entrepreneurs with limited access to traditional bank financing.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Blue Bees does
Blue Bees (legally BLUE PROJECT SAS) is a French participatory financing platform headquartered at 102C rue Amelot, 75011 Paris, that facilitates crowdfunding for ecological transition projects. The platform specializes exclusively in sustainable agriculture, food systems, environmental education, and rural entrepreneurship, and serves small-scale project owners who face limited access to traditional bank financing due to insufficient collateral or guarantees. Its core products are participatory loans (starting at €50 per contribution, capped at €5,000 per project) and participatory donations (starting at €1), with the option of reward-based campaigns. The platform operates as a self-serve web marketplace where project owners submit campaigns via Typeform, undergo personalized coaching from the Blue Bees team, and are amplified through a network of strategic partners. Payment processing, escrow, and loan repayment flows are handled by MangoPay; Blue Bees itself is regulated as an Intermédiaire en Financement Participatif under ORIAS number 14006337, supervised by ACPR, and holds the ESUS (Entreprise Solidaire d'Utilité Sociale) status.
The platform's commercial model is transaction-based: Blue Bees charges a 12% HT fee on the sums collected through both donation and lending campaigns, supplemented by a €750 HT flat file fee for lending campaigns (due regardless of outcome) and a €600 HT minimum on donation campaigns raising under €5,000. According to disclosed scale metrics, Blue Bees has facilitated €13,863,583 in cumulative financing across 1,094 projects, served 118,121 contributors (with a 23% repeat-contributor rate), and reports a community of roughly 60,000 engaged members. Average deal sizes are €9,557 for donation campaigns and €69,600 for lending campaigns, with the platform claiming a 45-day average campaign-to-disbursement cycle.
Customer concentration is highly distributed, with named project holders spanning permaculture micro-farms, maraîchage bio operations, apiculture, viticulture, cold-pressed juice production, urban micro-farms, and bulk-grocery networks across metropolitan France and select international projects (e.g., Cameroon, New Zealand). Distribution and demand generation run through a mix of organic social, monthly email newsletter, earned media (Le Monde, Le Figaro, Les Échos, Challenges, 20 Minutes), event activations (notably 'Le réveil des forces sauvages' with GoodPlanet and Jane Goodall Institute France), partner referrals (Fermes d'Avenir, ADEAR, ANDES, Réseau Cocagne, Fondation SNCF, Crédit Mutuel, Bpifrance, Ville de Paris), and project testimonials. The organization operates with two salaried employees and a tightly shared leadership structure with Fermes d'Avenir, having raised a single disclosed funding round of approximately $238,000 from Fundinno in February 2021.
Blue Bees firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blue Bees
- Legal name
- BLUE PROJECT SAS
- Website
- https://bluebees.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Blue Bees is a French crowdfunding platform that enables participatory loans and donations for ecological transition projects, primarily serving small-scale sustainable agriculture and food entrepreneurs with limited access to traditional bank financing.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Blue Bees is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Blue Bees business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Loan intermediation fees: For lending campaigns, Blue Bees charges a flat file fee of 750€ HT (plus VAT) due regardless of outcome, and a success fee of 12% HT of the actual amount collected.
- Donation platform fees: For donation campaigns, Blue Bees charges 12% HT of the sum raised, with a minimum of 600€ HT for campaigns raising less than 5,000€.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Lending campaign intermediation and technical management fees |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | Donation campaign platform fees |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Minimum lending contribution per project |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Blue Bees product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blue Bees operates an online crowdfunding platform that enables project owners in sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and ecological transition to raise funds from a community of contributors through participatory loans (starting at €50, repaid with 2-3% interest) and donations with rewards (starting at €1). The platform provides campaign management, contributor tracking, fund disbursement, and personalized coaching, taking a 12% HT transaction fee on funds raised plus a €750 HT file fee on lending campaigns.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Crowdfunding Platform for Ecological Transition
- Participatory Loans
- Participatory Donations
- Gift Cards (Carte Cadeau Bluebees)
Quantifiable outcome
- 45 days average from campaign launch to loan disbursement
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Blue Bees
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Blue Bees technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Blue Bees partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and minor.
- Fermes d'AvenircoreFermes d'Avenir is an association proving that agroecology is more profitable than conventional agriculture. Blue Bees works closely with Fermes d'Avenir on calls for projects and shared mission. Fermes d'Avenir's director Claudio Muskus also serves as director of Bluebees, making this a deeply integrated partnership.
- Crédit MutuelcoreCrédit Mutuel is Blue Bees' banking partner. With 2,100 local branches across France (the 2nd largest agricultural bank), its physical proximity complements Blue Bees' digital platform. They collaborate to offer tailored financing solutions for projects on the site.
- BpifrancecoreBpifrance is France's public investment bank. It lists all ongoing Blue Bees campaigns on its platform to give them visibility, acting as a key promotional channel for the platform's projects.
- Financement Participatif France (FPF)coreFPF is the French crowdfunding industry association representing collective interests of participatory finance actors. Blue Bees is a member of FPF (displaying the 'Membre FPF' badge), contributing to industry standards and policy advocacy.
- ANDESsignificantANDES is the pioneer network of solidarity grocery stores in France, supporting ~370 solidarity stores serving ~150,000 people annually. Blue Bees and ANDES partner on calls for projects with preferential terms for tax-deductible donation campaigns.
- ADEARsignificantADEAR is a network supporting peasant installation and training. Blue Bees works with ADEAR on training, calls for projects, and referral of farming entrepreneurs to the platform.
- Réseau CocagnesignificantRéseau Cocagne is an association of organic insertion farms offering local bio baskets while fighting exclusion. Blue Bees supports its members' crowdfunding campaigns.
- Fondation SNCFsignificantFondation SNCF partners with Blue Bees to run the 'Graines de Nature' call for projects, which funds environmental education associations benefiting teenagers in middle and high schools.
- Agence BiominorAgence Bio promotes and develops organic farming in France. Blue Bees is part of the Agence Bio funders' club, contributing to the organic sector's growth.
- EmmaüssignificantFounded in 1954 by Abbé Pierre, Emmaüs fights exclusion through reuse and recycling. Blue Bees supports Emmaüs France's donation campaigns, including a call for donations during COVID-19 to deliver meals to healthcare workers.
- Reforest'ActionminorB Corp-certified company whose primary mission is to raise awareness and act for forests. Reforest'Action financially supports agroforestry projects listed on Blue Bees.
- Day by dayminorThe first 100% bulk grocery network in France with 750+ products. Multiple Day by day stores have run crowdfunding campaigns on Blue Bees to launch or expand their locations.
- Mamie MesureminorZero-waste, local, and organic franchise of bulk grocery and household stores primarily in western France. Stores use Blue Bees crowdfunding campaigns to expand, in partnership with Blue Bees.
- Savoir-Faire et DécouverteminorNetwork of 100+ artisans, farmers, and artists committed to ecological practices, offering ~400 training dates per year. Blue Bees refers to Savoir-Faire et Découverte as a partner ecosystem for rural project seekers.
- Ville de ParissignificantThe City of Paris partnered with Blue Bees for the 'Je nourris Paris!' initiative in 2025, offering exceptional aid to Paris-region agroecological farms supplying Paris. The city doubles donations collected during qualifying crowdfunding campaigns.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Blue Bees competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MiiMOSA: France's leading crowdfunding platform dedicated to agriculture and food. Most directly comparable to Blue Bees — same target market (French farmers, food entrepreneurs), similar loan + donation mechanics, and similar ecological/sustainability orientation.
- Ulule: France's largest general-purpose crowdfunding platform, now part of the Ulule Group after acquiring KissKissBankBank. Competes with Blue Bees for French project-seekers across creative, entrepreneurial, and sustainability categories, with significantly greater scale and capital.
- KissKissBankBank: Historic French crowdfunding platform (acquired by Ulule Group) offering reward-based and donation crowdfunding. Competes for the same French SMB and association project-seekers as Blue Bees, with broader category coverage and stronger consumer brand.
- Zeste: French cooperative crowdfunding platform focused on sustainable food, agriculture, and short-supply-chain projects. Direct peer with overlapping target market (small French food/agriculture entrepreneurs) and similar ecological-transition mission.
- Lendosphere: French crowdfunding lending platform specialised in renewable energy and sustainable real-estate projects. Direct peer on the participatory-loan mechanics Blue Bees uses, with overlapping contributor base interested in ecological impact investing.
- Lumo: French crowdfunding platform dedicated to renewable-energy and ecological-transition projects. Direct peer — same impact-investing audience, similar loan-based mechanics, and overlapping channel partnerships in the French ecological-finance ecosystem.
- Enerfip: French crowdfunding platform dedicated to renewable-energy project financing via citizen lending. Direct peer for participatory-loan mechanics serving the same French impact-investor pool, though more narrowly focused on energy assets.
- WiSEED: French impact-investing platform offering equity, loan, and bond crowdfunding for sustainable and social enterprises. Direct peer at the intersection of impact finance and crowdfunding, with broader asset-class coverage than Blue Bees.
Broad incumbents
- GoFundMe: Global donation-based crowdfunding incumbent with a French presence. Competes for individual donors and association campaigns at a much larger scale, but lacks Blue Bees' agricultural-project curation and impact-verification positioning.
Emerging players
- Fundinno: Japanese equity-crowdfunding platform and disclosed investor in Blue Bees (2021). Compares as a fellow small/niche private-market platform; included because of the verified investment relationship and similar marketplace-intermediary model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Blue Bees social profiles
Digital presenceBlue Bees compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Blue Bees financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blue Bees leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Blue Bees funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blue Bees M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blue Bees
What does Blue Bees do?
Blue Bees operates an online crowdfunding platform that enables project owners in sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and ecological transition to raise funds from a community of contributors through participatory loans (starting at €50, repaid with 2-3% interest) and donations with rewards (starting at €1). The platform provides campaign management, contributor tracking, fund disbursement, and personalized coaching, taking a 12% HT transaction fee on funds raised plus a €750 HT file fee on lending campaigns.
Is Blue Bees a public or private company?
Blue Bees is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Blue Bees founded?
Blue Bees was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Blue Bees based?
Blue Bees is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Blue Bees make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Loan intermediation fees are the primary driver. The others are donation platform fees.
Who are Blue Bees's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MiiMOSA, Ulule, KissKissBankBank, Zeste, Lendosphere, Lumo, Enerfip and WiSEED. GoFundMe is listed as a broad incumbent. Fundinno is listed as an emerging player.
Does Blue Bees have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blue Bees.