COOP'ALPHA

What COOP'ALPHA does

COOP'ALPHA is a Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi (CAE) and SCOP Anonyme (Société Coopérative Ouvrière de Production) headquartered in Lormont, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, established around 2006. The cooperative provides a legal, administrative, and collective framework that enables individual entrepreneurs to operate as 'entrepreneurs-salariés' — maintaining employee status, social benefits, and shared back-office infrastructure while developing their own business activities. Since inception, Coop'alpha has accompanied approximately 3,030 entrepreneurs across 10 professional sectors in the Gironde and Dordogne departments, with a reported 92% satisfaction rate among supported members. Operations are anchored by offices in Lormont (headquarters, relocated April 2025 to the Ecodome building) and Périgueux.

The product portfolio centers on three pillars: (1) the Cooperative Activity and Employment Framework, which delivers shared legal, administrative, accounting, and strategic support services to member-entrepreneurs operating under their own 'enseignes' or business brands; (2) Coop'alpha Formation, a Qualiopi-certified training division staffed by 45 trainers delivering professional development courses and skills assessments; and (3) Flashcoop, a 7-day ephemeral youth cooperative program for ages 17-25. The technology stack is operationally modest: a WordPress-based public website integrated with Nextcloud for entrepreneur profile management, with no proprietary platform, API, or AI/ML capability documented.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring subscription-style fees paid by entrepreneur-members to access the cooperative's legal status, administrative infrastructure, and support services, supplemented by Qualiopi-certified training fees from Coop'alpha Formation and material co-financing from public partners including the European Social Fund (FSE+), Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and Bordeaux Métropole. The go-to-market model is community-led and event-driven, relying on collective information sessions, ESS events (notably GSEF 2025), partnerships with youth and entrepreneurship organizations (Info Jeunes, Mission Locale, La Ruche, BPI France, France Active), and word-of-mouth referrals across a 19-year territorial track record. The organization has approximately 70 employees and is privately held under cooperative ownership with no institutional investors.

Name

COOP'ALPHA

Legal name

Coop'alpha Coopérative d'activité et d'emploi

Website

https://coopalpha.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

COOP'ALPHA is a French Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi (SCOP) headquartered in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, providing legal, administrative, and collective framework services to individual entrepreneurs across 10 professional sectors, alongside a Qualiopi-certified training division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lormont

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Entrepreneur membership/service fees: Entrepreneurs pay fees to operate within the cooperative structure, receiving in return legal/administrative support, shared services, and the employee-entrepreneur status.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

COOP'ALPHA is a Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi (CAE) that allows individual entrepreneurs to develop their own business activities under the cooperative's legal and administrative umbrella. Entrepreneurs benefit from employee status, shared accounting and administrative services, training, and a collective community. The cooperative also offers the Flashcoop youth entrepreneurship program (7-day mini-cooperative experience) and a Qualiopi-certified training division (Coop'alpha Formation).

Product overview

COOP'ALPHA is a Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi (CAE) that provides a unified cooperative framework for entrepreneurs to launch and operate their businesses. The core offering consists of the Cooperative Activity and Employment Framework, which provides administrative, accounting, and strategic support services alongside a collective entrepreneurial community. Flashcoop is a signature youth entrepreneurship program enabling 17-25 year-olds to experience business creation over 7 days. Coop'alpha Formation is a dedicated training division with 45 trainers. Individual entrepreneurs operate under their own 'enseignes' (business brands) spanning IT services, consulting, environmental health, creative services, and more. The company also facilitates Collective Information Meetings as an entry point for prospective entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cooperative Activity and Employment Framework (CAE) Core cooperative framework that enables individual entrepreneurs to launch and operate independent professional activities under employee status, including administrative, accounting, and strategic support, shared services, training, and access to the Union Sociale des SCOP benefits.
• Coop'alpha Formation Qualiopi-certified professional training division of Coop'alpha, grouping 45 certified trainers delivering professional development and skills training for entrepreneurs and partner organizations across multiple sectors.
• Flashcoop Youth Cooperative Program Ephemeral cooperative program for young people aged 17-25 that runs over 7 days and lets participants experience entrepreneurship end-to-end: brand development, market research, production, sales, and financial management, in partnership with Info Jeunes Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Mission Locale Bordeaux, and ENTR-AUTRES.
• Collective Information Meetings (Réunions d'information collective) Regular scheduled two-hour information meetings delivered in-person and remotely to project holders, entrepreneurs, partners, and curious individuals to explain the cooperative entrepreneurship model and the path to joining Coop'alpha.

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% satisfaction rate among entrepreneurs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Info Jeunes Nouvelle-AquitainecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Partnership for Flashcoop youth entrepreneurship program and youth outreach initiatives. Info Jeunes serves as a referral channel and co-organizer of youth entrepreneurship activities during major ESS events like GSEF 2025.
• Mission Locale BordeauxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Partnership for Flashcoop youth entrepreneurship program targeting young people aged 17-25. Mission Locale provides referral of youth participants and co-organizes youth entrepreneurship initiatives.
• ENTR-AUTREScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 October 2025Association partner for Flashcoop youth entrepreneurship program, contributing to youth outreach and support during major ESS events.
• Bordeaux GSEF 2025coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 October 2025Co-organizer of Faire ESSembre event and participant in Flashcoop youth bar during the Forum mondial de l'Économie Sociale et Solidaire, first held in France at Hangar 14 Bordeaux.
• Union Sociale des SCOP et des SCICcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides social benefits to entrepreneurs including childcare assistance, cultural/leisure benefits, social prestations, and family support services. Available to all entrepreneurs after 3 months of seniority.
• AquinumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociation of digital professionals collaborating with Coop'alpha for afterwork events to promote entrepreneurial talent from both networks.
• La RuchecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of WEDAYS entrepreneurship events promoting female entrepreneurship, with joint events hosted at Coop'alpha's Lormont offices.
• Premières Nouvelle-AquitainecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for WEDAYS events promoting women's entrepreneurship in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, co-organizing events with La Ruche and Coop'alpha.
• France Active Nouvelle-AquitainecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in BPI France's 'Entreprendre au cœur des territoires' program offering accompaniment to entrepreneurs in Libourne, Bergerac, and Périgueux through serious games and structured parcours.
• BPI FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for 'Entreprendre au cœur des territoires' program supporting entrepreneurship in 'Action Cœur de ville' and 'Petites villes de demain' territories.
• e-graine Nouvelle-AquitaineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Faire ESSembre event within GSEF 2025, contributing to ESS visibility and territorial animation.
• Fabrique PolaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Faire ESSembre event and host venue for the event at 10 Quai de Brazza, Bordeaux.
• Laboratoire d'Initiative Alimentaire (LIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Faire ESSembre event contributing to food and sustainable food initiatives within ESS.
• Maison de la Nature et de l'Environnement (M.N.E)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Faire ESSembre event, contributing to environmental and nature themes within ESS.
• Le Rocher de PalmerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Faire ESSembre event providing cultural programming including rap showcase and DJ set.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• France Active: Network financing socially-engaged entrepreneurship via regional funds and accompaniment; an explicit partner of Coop'alpha through BPI's 'Entreprendre au cœur des territoires' program. Overlaps directly on entrepreneur support and ESS funding intermediation.
• Adie: Association pour le Droit à l'Initiative Économique — French non-profit providing microcredit and accompaniment to entrepreneurs excluded from traditional banking, including solo/micro ventures similar to Coop'alpha's entrepreneur-salariés.
• Réseau Entreprendre: National network pairing business creators with experienced entrepreneur-mentors and offering financing. Comparable target market (new and growing business creators) and similar territorial/regional delivery model.
• Initiative France: Federation of local associations that provide zero-interest loans and mentorship to business creators in France. Highly comparable to Coop'alpha in target audience (micro/solo entrepreneurs) and territorial deployment model, with partnership links already in place via BPI/France Active.
• BGE (Boutique de Gestion): National French network of entrepreneurship support associations offering business creation guidance, training, and financing — directly overlapping with Coop'alpha's entrepreneur accompaniment mission, though organized as associations rather than SCOP cooperatives.
• Coopaname: France's largest Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi (CAE), based in the Paris region. Coopaname and Coop'alpha run the same underlying CAE model — shared legal/administrative framework for entrepreneur-salariés — and are the two most comparable CAEs in the French ESS ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Pôle Emploi / France Travail: French national public employment agency with whom Coop'alpha's information sessions and Mission Locale partners overlap for entrepreneurial pathway referrals. Broad incumbent shaping the institutional environment in which CAEs operate.

Regional players

• URSCOP Nouvelle-Aquitaine: Regional federation of SCOP (worker cooperatives) in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, providing services and representation to cooperative enterprises including Coop'alpha. Direct territorial peer for cooperative-structure ecosystem support.

Emerging players

• La Ruche (Le Tank / ecosystem hub): Network of coworking/acceleration hubs co-organizing with Coop'alpha the WEDAYS events; serving part of the same entrepreneur/ESS community with shared physical infrastructure and programming — a thematic/ecosystem peer in women's entrepreneurship support.

Others

• Crédit Coopératif: France's cooperative bank serving the ESS economy, providing the banking infrastructure accessed by many CAEs and their entrepreneur-members. Adjacent ecosystem enabler rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXpzMMnodpuGDgtxRCUaXVg
• Facebookfacebook.com/coopalpha.coop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coop-alpha

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about COOP'ALPHA