Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal (CESIM)

What Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal (CESIM) does

CESIM (Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal) is a Montreal-based non-profit organization founded in 1997 that serves as the designated regional development authority for the social economy on Montreal Island. Its mandate, delivered in collaboration with Ville de Montréal, is to promote and amplify the social economy movement by supporting the emergence, development, and consolidation of social economy enterprises and projects. The organization is governed by an Annual General Assembly and operates with a lean staff of nine employees headquartered at 1250 rue Beaubien Est.

CESIM's portfolio of programs includes Campus*48, an immersive entrepreneurial camp for CEGEP students running annually since 2024 with a third edition scheduled for October 2026; L'économie sociale, j'achète!, a curated initiative currently connecting 20 social economy enterprises across 10 boroughs and 11 activity sectors; SISMIC MTL – Émergence Jeunesse, which supports young entrepreneurs in social economy; the Conversations montréalaises sur l'économie sociale event series; and Émergence de projets structurants, which supports structural social economy projects. It also maintains a public-facing online Répertoire directory of social economy enterprises. Past initiatives include Émer'gens, Impulsion relance, and Parcours Symbiose. The underlying infrastructure is conventional web-based (a WordPress website hosted at esmtl.ca) with technology support from Réseau Koumbit and SymbioTIC.

The business model is that of a non-profit membership organization. Revenue is derived primarily from membership dues paid by social economy enterprises and from government grant funding, with revenue not publicly disclosed. The customer ecosystem spans three principal constituencies: member social economy enterprises (cooperatives, non-profits, and other social-purpose organizations operating across the island), college/university students engaged through Campus*48, and youth entrepreneurs served by SISMIC MTL. Distribution is purely regional, restricted to Montreal Island, and channels include direct membership, programmatic participation, the online directory, newsletter communications, social media, and live events including the Annual General Meeting.

Name

Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal (CESIM)

Legal name

Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal

Website

https://economiesocialemontreal.net

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CESIM is a Montreal-based non-profit founded in 1997, designated as the Montreal Island regional authority for social economy development. It supports cooperatives, non-profits, students, and youth entrepreneurs through programs including Campus*48, L'économie sociale j'achète!, and SISMIC MTL.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Economy Development Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)

Keywords

• Social economy development
• Community economic development
• Cooperative enterprise support
• Social entrepreneurship programs
• Nonprofit sector support

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees and government funding: As a non-profit social economy development organization, CESIM's primary revenue streams include membership fees from social economy enterprises and government funding to support its mission of promoting and developing the social economy in Montreal.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CESIM is the Montreal regional development authority for the social economy, operating programs and services that promote, support, and consolidate social economy enterprises and projects on Montreal Island. Its core offerings include the Campus*48 immersive entrepreneurial camp for CEGEP students, the L'économie sociale, j'achète! initiative that connects 20 social economy enterprises across 10 boroughs, the SISMIC MTL youth emergence program, collective entrepreneurship support services, an online Répertoire (directory) of member enterprises, and conversation/networking events.

Product overview

CESIM (Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal) is a social economy development organization offering a portfolio of programs and services to promote, support, and consolidate social economy enterprises and projects in Montreal. The core offerings include: the Campus*48 entrepreneurial camp program, the 'L'économie sociale, j'achète!' initiative for promoting social economy enterprises, the SISMIC MTL youth emergence program, collective entrepreneurship support services, and a directory (Répertoire) of member enterprises. CESIM also manages completed programs including Émer'gens, Impulsion relance, and Parcours Symbiose, and organizes event series such as Conversations montréalaises sur l'économie sociale. The organization functions as a network hub connecting social economy enterprises rather than offering a traditional technology product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Campus*48: Immersive entrepreneurial camp for CEGEP students in Montreal
• L'économie sociale, j'achète !
• SISMIC MTL – Émergence Jeunesse
• ECO-RDV
• Conversations montréalaises sur l'économie sociale
• Émer'gens
• Impulsion relance
• Parcours Symbiose

Products and services

• Campus*48 An immersive entrepreneurial camp that brings together CEGEP students from Montreal to develop social economy projects and innovate for the city of tomorrow.
• L'économie sociale, j'achète ! A Montreal initiative that promotes social economy enterprises through a directory of businesses and signed procurement contracts, currently gathering 20 enterprises from 10 boroughs of Montreal across 11 activity sectors.
• SISMIC MTL – Émergence Jeunesse Youth emergence program supporting the development of social economy projects among young people in Montreal.
• Répertoire Public online directory and map of social economy enterprises in Montreal, allowing users to locate and connect with member organizations.
• Services d'accompagnement en entrepreneuriat collectif Collective entrepreneurship support services covering the emergence of social economy enterprises, structural projects emergence, and the Montreal conversations on social economy.
• Conversations montréalaises sur l'économie sociale Montreal conversation series on social economy topics, bringing together stakeholders to discuss and advance the social economy movement.

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ville de MontréalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESIM collaborates with the City of Montreal as the regional development authority for social economy on the island. The organization works to promote social economy across Montreal's boroughs and districts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Canadian Social Economy Research Council (CSERC): Research-oriented council supporting the Canadian social economy ecosystem with publications and convening; comparable in mission alignment with CESIM, though primarily a research and convening body rather than a regional service-delivery operator.

Direct peers

• Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet): National Canadian network supporting community economic development practitioners and organizations; comparable in advocating for and connecting social economy actors across a multi-region footprint, though operating at a pan-Canadian scale.
• Territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire (TIESS): Quebec innovation hub for the social and solidarity economy that incubates and disseminates practices across territories; closely comparable to CESIM in supporting regional social economy development, though TIESS operates more as an applied research and innovation intermediary.
• Chantier de l'économie sociale: Quebec-wide umbrella organization for social economy that operates with a similar mandate of promoting and developing the social economy movement, but at the provincial rather than Montreal Island level; directly comparable in mission, member-based structure, and government-funded model.
• Réseau COOP: Quebec cooperative network providing representation, training, and member services to cooperatives across the province; directly comparable membership-driven model focused on a specific subset of social economy enterprises (cooperatives) that overlap with CESIM's constituency.

Regional players

• Pôle d'économie sociale de l'Outaouais: Regional social economy pole serving Outaouais with a comparable role of supporting cooperatives, nonprofits, and social enterprises through accompaniment and member-based services; non-overlapping geography but directly analogous mandate.
• Pôle d'économie sociale de la Capitale-Nationale: Regional social economy development pole for the Quebec City region, structurally analogous to CESIM but covering a different Quebec territory; directly comparable mandate of enterprise emergence, accompaniment, and municipal anchoring.

Broad incumbents

• Réseau québécois du développement social (RQDS): Quebec-wide network for social development that overlaps with CESIM's stakeholder ecosystem and advocacy function, but operates at a broader 'social development' framing that includes more than just the social economy enterprise constituency.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/esmtl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cesim-esmtl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Conseil d'économie sociale de l'île de Montréal (CESIM)