Raise Sherpas
Raise Sherpas is a Paris-based French philanthropic accelerator providing 100% free non-dilutive financing (interest-free loans, venture loans, and investment tickets) plus mentorship and corporate introductions to impact-native startups and innovative European associations, sustained by RAISE Group carried-interest donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Raise Sherpas does
Raise Sherpas is a French philanthropic accelerator structured as an endowment fund (Fonds de Dotation) under the SIREN number 798 126 439, headquartered at 39 boulevard de la Tour Maubourg in Paris. Founded on July 16, 2013, and operating its acceleration programs since 2015, the organization describes itself as the first philanthropic accelerator in France. It is part of the broader RAISE Group ecosystem, with RAISE Group's investment teams donating 50% of their carried interest to sustain RAISE Sherpas' operations. The organization's purpose is to provide financing, mentorship, and ecosystem access to impact-native startups and innovative associations at no cost, with all programs positioned as 100% free to participants.
The core offering consists of three financing products and a suite of support services. For startups, RAISE Sherpas provides a €100,000 interest-free loan (2-year deferment, 4-year repayment) for French impact-native companies with majority founders and approximately €500K in revenues, a €200K-€750K venture loan for Ile-de-France companies with 18 months to 7 years of activity and €1M-€10M in revenues, and RAISE Phiture — a 100% non-profit tech investment fund with tickets up to €150K. For innovative European associations addressing social inclusion or environmental transition, the organization provides €120K in donations over 3 years, supporting 6 associations annually. Supporting services include mentorship (150+ mentors), workshops, C-Level clubs, and business introductions to a corporate network spanning AXA, Danone, EDF, Carrefour, Société Générale, L'Oréal, Michelin, Orange, Veolia, SNCF, Allianz, FDJ, and Citeo.
The business model is philanthropic rather than commercial: RAISE Sherpas generates no revenue from its acceleration programs, has no pricing tiers for beneficiaries, and instead operates as a cost center sustained by carried interest donations from RAISE Group's investment activities. Distribution is sales-led and application-based, with prospective participants submitting applications via the organization's website (using tally.so forms). Since 2015, the organization has cumulatively funded 250+ startups and associations, closed 23 RAISE Phiture investments, and built a community including 200+ scaleups and corporates alongside 100+ VCs, angels, and banks across Europe. Notable alumni outcomes include ManoMano, which subsequently exceeded €1B in sales and raised over €500M, and Yuka (HR Tech).
Raise Sherpas firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Raise Sherpas
- Legal name
- RAISE SHERPAS Endowment Fund
- Website
- https://raise-sherpas.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Raise Sherpas is a Paris-based French philanthropic accelerator providing 100% free non-dilutive financing (interest-free loans, venture loans, and investment tickets) plus mentorship and corporate introductions to impact-native startups and innovative European associations, sustained by RAISE Group carried-interest donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Raise Sherpas industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Acceleration Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)
Keywords
Where Raise Sherpas is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Raise Sherpas business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Philanthropic Funding Model: Raise Sherpas is a 100% philanthropic structure funded by RAISE Group. RAISE Group investment teams donate 50% of their carried interest to support Raise Sherpas' operations. The organization does not generate commercial revenue from its acceleration programs - all services are provided free of charge to startups and associations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Interest Free Loan for early-stage impact startups |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Venture Loan Expansion for growth-stage companies |
| Other | Multi-year contract | RAISE Phiture investment for pre-seed to Series B startups |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Association support program |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Raise Sherpas product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Raise Sherpas is a philanthropic accelerator that provides 100% free non-dilutive financing (interest-free loans, venture loans, and equity tickets via the RAISE Phiture fund) and support services (mentorship, C-Level workshops, corporate business introductions, and community access) to early-stage impact startups and innovative European associations. All programs are offered at no cost, funded by RAISE Group's investment teams donating 50% of their carried interest.
Product overview
RAISE Sherpas is the first philanthropic accelerator offering 100% free programs to startups and associations since 2015. The company operates a multi-product portfolio consisting of three main financing products (Interest Free Loan at 100K€, Venture Loan Expansion from 200K€ to 750K€, and RAISE Phiture investment fund up to 150K€), alongside support services including Mentorship, Workshops & C-Levels Clubs, Business Introductions to 200+ corporates, and Community Network access. The RAISE Sherpas Associations program specifically supports innovative NGOs with 120K€ donations over 3 years. All programs leverage an ecosystem of 150+ mentors, 200+ scaleups and corporates, and 100+ VCs and angels across Europe.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Interest Free Loan
Quantifiable outcome
- 250+ startups and associations funded since 2015
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Raise Sherpas
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Raise Sherpas technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Raise Sherpas partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- OVHminorOVH provides web hosting services for the raise-sherpas.co website.
- AXAminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- DanoneminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- EDFminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- CarrefourminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- Société GénéraleminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- L'OréalminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- MichelinminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- OrangeminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- VeoliaminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- SNCFminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- AllianzminorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- Française des Jeux (FDJ)minorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- CiteominorCorporate partner providing business introduction opportunities to startups in RAISE Sherpas portfolio.
- Mentors NetworkcorePool of 150+ operators and founders providing mentorship to portfolio companies. Notable mentors include: Frédéric Bardeau (Co-founder Simplon), Antoine le Conte (Co-founder Cheerz), Arantxa Baslon (Ex DRH Accor), Clément Buyse (Co-founder PeopleDoc), Denis Machuel (CEO TheAdeccoGroup), Aude Guo (Co-founder Innovafeed), Philippe de Chanville (Co-founder ManoMano), and others.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Raise Sherpas competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Station F: Largest startup campus in the world, located in Paris, hosting accelerators and programs for early-stage startups including dedicated impact-themed tracks. Operates in the same French ecosystem and serves a similar early-stage founder audience.
- Acumen: Global nonprofit impact investor and leadership academy combining patient capital investment with founder/leadership support programs. Closely comparable as a hybrid grantmaking + impact-investing organization serving social entrepreneurs.
- Makesense: France-headquartered international community supporting social entrepreneurs through incubator programs, community activation, and corporate partnerships. Directly comparable as a French-rooted impact entrepreneur support platform.
- France Active: Leading French impact investor providing financing (loans, equity, guarantees) and support to social enterprises and associations. Directly comparable as a French nonprofit-focused capital provider with similar beneficiary profiles.
- Ashoka: Global organization supporting leading social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) through stipends, network access, and partnerships. Comparable as a long-tenured global philanthropic support platform for system-changing innovators.
- Village Capital: Global impact venture accelerator supporting early-stage entrepreneurs solving social and environmental problems through peer-selected investment and curated support. Comparable accelerator-plus-investment model targeting impact-native startups.
- Antler: Global early-stage VC and accelerator providing capital plus structured support to founders from pre-seed through Series A. Operates a similar model of combining capital with mentorship and corporate introductions across multiple geographies, including France.
- Echoing Green: Global social entrepreneurship fellowship providing unrestricted seed funding, leadership development, and community access to early-career social entrepreneurs. Directly comparable in the philanthropic accelerator model of combining capital with mentorship.
Broad incumbents
- Techstars: Largest global accelerator network operating standardized 3-month programs with mentor networks and follow-on capital. Comparable accelerator-plus-network model, though primarily equity-dilutive and profit-motivated rather than philanthropic.
- Bpifrance: France's public investment bank offering a wide range of financing (loans, guarantees, equity) and accelerator programs to French startups and SMEs. Operates at vastly larger scale but addresses similar early-stage capital needs across the French ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Raise Sherpas social profiles
Digital presenceRaise Sherpas compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Raise Sherpas financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Raise Sherpas leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Raise Sherpas funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Raise Sherpas M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments3 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Raise Sherpas
What does Raise Sherpas do?
Raise Sherpas is a philanthropic accelerator that provides 100% free non-dilutive financing (interest-free loans, venture loans, and equity tickets via the RAISE Phiture fund) and support services (mentorship, C-Level workshops, corporate business introductions, and community access) to early-stage impact startups and innovative European associations. All programs are offered at no cost, funded by RAISE Group's investment teams donating 50% of their carried interest.
Is Raise Sherpas a public or private company?
Raise Sherpas is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Raise Sherpas founded?
Raise Sherpas was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Raise Sherpas based?
Raise Sherpas is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Raise Sherpas make money?
One revenue line is on record: philanthropic Funding Model.
Who are Raise Sherpas's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Station F, Acumen, Makesense, France Active, Ashoka, Village Capital, Antler and Echoing Green. Broad incumbents are Techstars and Bpifrance.
Does Raise Sherpas have an API?
No public API is recorded for Raise Sherpas.
What industry is Raise Sherpas in?
Raise Sherpas's product category is Startup Acceleration Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAA, Private Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAF, Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.