SPEAR
SPEAR was a French cooperative online platform that connected ethical individual savers with social and environmental project promoters via partner banks, offering tax-advantaged solidarity savings; the company ceased new operations in 2018.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What SPEAR does
Beyond the consumer platform, SPEAR's founders spun out CapSens, a white-label crowdfunding technology business that licensed customized crowdfunding websites to peer platforms (Blast.club, LITA.co, Credit.fr, Fundimmo, Enerfip, Agorize) and institutional clients including the French Ministry of Education, Société Générale, La Banque Postale, and Idinvest. SPEAR's business model combined four revenue streams: a 4% TTC fee on subscribed savers' capital, 0.5-1% brokerage fees on borrowed amounts, margin sharing from partner banks on solidarity savings deposits, and CapSens white-label licensing revenue. Distribution combined direct-to-consumer self-serve online subscription, banking partner referral to private banking clients, Biocoop organic retail store promotion, and a referral program (€60 reward per converted saver above €4,000 threshold). SPEAR financed 42 projects and collected more than €8 million before discontinuing new operations in 2018 following elimination of the ISF wealth tax, persistently low interest rates that compressed saver returns to 0% from 2014 onward, and a restrictive AMF position on cooperative social share issuance that blocked a planned mutualizing partnership with another crowdfunding actor; the entity now manages legacy portfolios until 2026 subscriber reimbursements become due.
SPEAR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SPEAR
- Legal name
- SPEAR (Société Pour une Epargne Activement Responsable)
- Website
- https://spear.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SPEAR was a French cooperative online platform that connected ethical individual savers with social and environmental project promoters via partner banks, offering tax-advantaged solidarity savings; the company ceased new operations in 2018.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SPEAR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Solidarity Savings / Ethical Crowdfunding
- NAICS
- Depository Credit Intermediation (5221), Credit Unions (522130)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Savings Institutions, Not Federally Chartered (6036)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building) (BPAGALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Microenterprise Group Lending (Joint Liability) (FSAKAGAH)
Keywords
Where SPEAR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
SPEAR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Savings subscription fees: SPEAR charges 4% TTC (all-inclusive) fees on the amount subscribed by savers. This is the primary platform usage fee.
- Brokerage fees from borrowers: Project promoters pay brokerage fees of 0.5% to 1% of the borrowed amount when successfully obtaining credit through SPEAR's banking partners.
- Banking partner margins: SPEAR receives margins from banking partners (Crédit Coopératif, Société Générale, BNP Paribas) who benefit from the solidarity savings deposits placed in term accounts.
- White-label crowdfunding technology: Through CapSens (created by SPEAR founders), the company develops white-label crowdfunding platforms for third parties, generating technology consulting revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | One-time | Savings subscription with tax benefits |
| Transaction based/ take rate | One-time | Borrower brokerage fees |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
SPEAR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SPEAR operated a cooperative solidarity savings platform that connected individual ethical savers with social and environmental project promoters, enabling savers to purchase cooperative shares with French tax benefits (18% income tax reduction or 50% wealth tax reduction) while directing capital to vetted responsible projects. Partner banks (Crédit Coopératif, Société Générale, BNP Paribas) bore project default risk, and SPEAR charged a 4% subscription fee to savers and 0.5%-1% brokerage fees to borrowers. Through CapSens, the founders also offered white-label crowdfunding platform technology to institutional clients.
Product overview
SPEAR operated as a solidarity savings and ethical investment platform structured as a Société Anonyme Coopérative. The core offering comprised the SPEAR Solidarity Savings Platform for individual investors to support social and environmental projects, complemented by the Capsens White-Label Crowdfunding Solution for organizations seeking to launch their own platforms. The platform facilitated project financing through partner banks (Crédit Coopératif, Société Générale, BNP Paribas), offered tax-advantaged savings products with 18% IR or 50% ISF reductions, and provided a proprietary social impact analysis methodology for project selection. Additional services included referral programs and brokerage support for project carriers. SPEAR ceased new operations in 2018 but maintains ongoing project management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 8 million euros collected for 42 projects from 2012-2018
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use SPEAR
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SPEAR technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature2 records
SPEAR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FinansolcoreFinansol association certifies SPEAR's solidarity finance activities, providing the Finansol label that attests to ethical and financial reliability. SPEAR's social shares carry the Finansol seal since September 2012.
- CapSenscoreCreated by SPEAR founders, CapSens provides white-label crowdfunding platform development. CapSens builds customized crowdfunding websites for third parties including Blast.club, LITA.co, Credit.fr, Fundimmo, Enerfip, Agorize, and institutional clients like Le Ministère de l'Education Nationale, Société Générale, La Banque Postale, and Idinvest.
- Finance HérosminorFinance Héros provides guides and comparators for choosing impact investments, featuring SPEAR products in their recommendations for responsible savings.
- BiocoopcoreOrganic retail network that promoted SPEAR solidarity savings to customers in its store network, particularly for financing new Biocoop store openings.
- Financement Participatif FrancecoreSPEAR is a founding member of the French crowdfunding association which works on regulatory frameworks and industry standards for participatory finance.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights3 records
SPEAR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CoopaWatt: CoopaWatt is a French cooperative financing citizen renewable energy projects through collective citizen investment. Closely comparable cooperative structure and solidarity-financed renewable energy thesis to SPEAR.
- Credit.fr: Credit.fr is a French crowdlending platform focused on SME and real estate loans to retail investors, a CapSens client. Comparable in serving ethical savers with project-backed investment products.
- Wiseed: Wiseed is a French crowdfunding platform offering equity, bond, and coin investments in startups and real estate, including responsible investment products — a direct functional peer for solidarity and impact-oriented savers.
- Énergie Partagée: Énergie Partagée is a French cooperative network mobilizing citizen investment in renewable energy projects, sharing strong cooperative DNA and a similar ethical-saver audience to SPEAR.
- Enerfip: Enerfip is a leading French crowdfunding platform dedicated to renewable energy projects, offering ethical savers tax-advantaged investments in solar, wind, and biogas. Strongly comparable in product structure, target savers, and Finansol-style certification, and a CapSens client.
- LITA.co: LITA.co is a French ethical investment platform offering solidarity-backed bonds, green bonds, and impact projects to retail savers — the closest direct functional analog to SPEAR's model in the current French market.
Broad incumbents
- France Active: France Active is a French impact finance organization financing social enterprises and associations. Comparable as a structural enabler of social/environmental project financing, though operating as a non-profit association rather than a retail-facing platform.
- La Nef: La Nef is a French ethical cooperative bank offering savings accounts and project financing for social/environmental projects. A broader incumbent in ethical finance, directly comparable to the credit-and-savings intermediation SPEAR performed via partner banks.
- Crédit Coopératif: Crédit Coopératif is a French cooperative bank specializing in social economy financing, and SPEAR's primary banking partner. Operates the same solidarity-finance thesis at substantially larger scale as a regulated depository institution.
Emerging players
- Carbone Grow: Carbone Grow is a French cooperative enabling savers to fund local ecological transition projects — closely aligned with SPEAR's cooperative solidarity finance model and target audience.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SPEAR social profiles
Digital presenceSPEAR compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
SPEAR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SPEAR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
SPEAR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SPEAR 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 SPEAR
What does SPEAR do?
SPEAR operated a cooperative solidarity savings platform that connected individual ethical savers with social and environmental project promoters, enabling savers to purchase cooperative shares with French tax benefits (18% income tax reduction or 50% wealth tax reduction) while directing capital to vetted responsible projects. Partner banks (Crédit Coopératif, Société Générale, BNP Paribas) bore project default risk, and SPEAR charged a 4% subscription fee to savers and 0.5%-1% brokerage fees to borrowers. Through CapSens, the founders also offered white-label crowdfunding platform technology to institutional clients.
Is SPEAR a public or private company?
SPEAR is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently closed.
When was SPEAR founded?
SPEAR was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SPEAR based?
SPEAR is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does SPEAR make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Savings subscription fees are the primary driver. The others are brokerage fees from borrowers, banking partner margins and white-label crowdfunding technology.
Who are SPEAR's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CoopaWatt, Credit.fr, Wiseed, Énergie Partagée, Enerfip and LITA.co. Broad incumbents are France Active, La Nef and Crédit Coopératif. Carbone Grow is listed as an emerging player.
Does SPEAR have an API?
No public API is recorded for SPEAR.
What industry is SPEAR in?
SPEAR's product category is Solidarity Savings / Ethical Crowdfunding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAJ, Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building), with a secondary code of FSAKAGAH, Microenterprise Group Lending (Joint Liability). Its NAICS code is 5221 and its SIC code is 6159.