Entraide Missionnaire Internationale - E.M.I.

What Entraide Missionnaire Internationale - E.M.I. does

Entraide Missionnaire Internationale (EMI) is a Swiss-law mutualist solidarity association founded on 30 June 1965 under the auspices of the Conférence des Supérieurs Majeurs de France, with the agreement of the Holy See. It provides health coverage and mutual aid for missionaries, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and clergy worldwide — particularly those in mission regions where national social security systems do not extend to non-salaried religious workers. Membership is open to Catholic religious institutes, dioceses, associations of the faithful, and other Christian communities, with no age limit for affiliation. EMI delivers its services through 8 regional sections (West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, Madagascar, DRC, Central America/Latin America, plus the General Section, with the Belgian Section closing effective May 2026), a network of 107 partner hospitals and clinics, a social fund for exceptional cases, and repatriation services.

EMI's core products are organized around four contribution tiers (Options 1–4) that define reimbursement rates and coverage scope, priced annually and tailored to each group's size and geography. There is no public rate card; pricing is delivered on a quote basis by the operational contact (Mr. Sylvain Sacheli). The organization is funded entirely by member contributions (cotisations), with no shareholders — surplus funds are redistributed to cover medical costs. Its core technology is an extranet platform managed through a long-standing partnership with MSH International, which handles invoice submission, claims processing, reimbursements, and group administration. The organization operates with only 12 staff and relies on regional section responsables (predominantly religious-order personnel) for member engagement, training, and operational delivery.

Commercially, EMI distributes exclusively through direct, relationship-based channels anchored in the Catholic hierarchy — bishops' conferences (CELAM, SCEAM), religious orders' assemblies (CLAR, CNEC), provincial chapter meetings, and field visits. There are no commercial resellers or distributors. Marketing is community-driven via the multilingual website (French, English, Spanish, Italian), YouTube/KTO.TV broadcasts, email newsletters, and on-the-ground testimonials. The leadership is internally drawn from the religious community, including the President Sœur Elisabeth Auliac and Secretary General Frère Henri Vignau, with regional sections run by orden personnel such as Spiritains in Central Africa. EMI's primary competitive advantage is structural: it is the only international solidarity-based health coverage system specifically designed for and endorsed by the Catholic Church, with cross-subsidization from wealthier European institutes to poorer mission-region communities.

Name

Entraide Missionnaire Internationale - E.M.I.

Legal name

Entraide Missionnaire Internationale

Website

https://entraide-missionnaire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Entraide Missionnaire Internationale (EMI) is a non-profit Swiss-law mutualist health-coverage association founded in 1965, serving Catholic missionaries, priests, and religious communities across 47+ countries through 8 regional sections, 107 partner hospitals, and a multi-tier contribution system.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mutual Health Insurance for Religious Communities

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300), Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Social Services & Community Outreach (Food Pantries, Shelters, Counseling) (BPAGAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Healthcare Ministries (Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Missions) (BPAGAJAH), Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

Keywords

• Mutual health coverage
• Religious insurance
• Missionary healthcare
• Solidarity health fund
• Clergy health benefits

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Member Contributions / Cotisations: EMI operates as a mutualist organization funded by regular contributions (cotisations) paid by each religious group or diocese on behalf of its members. Contributions fund a solidarity pool used to reimburse healthcare expenses according to defined criteria and coverage tiers (options). No surplus is generated for shareholders; funds are redistributed to cover member medical costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EMI operates a mutualist solidarity-based health coverage association for missionaries, priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, and clergy of young Churches worldwide. Members join through religious institutes, dioceses, or congregations and pay contributions that fund reimbursements of medical expenses, access to a network of 107 partner hospitals and clinics, a social safety-net fund, and repatriation services.

Product overview

EMI (Entraide Missionnaire Internationale) operates as a solidarity-based mutual insurance organization providing health coverage for missionaries, priests, religious brothers and sisters, and clergy of young Churches worldwide. Created on June 30, 1965 under Swiss law, EMI offers multiple contribution tiers (Options 1-4), a network of 107 partner healthcare facilities, a social fund for exceptional cases, and repatriation services. The organization collaborates with MSH International for platform management and operates through 8 regional sections covering Africa, the Americas, Madagascar, and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prise en charge des frais de santé (Health Cost Coverage) Solidarity-based reimbursement of medical expenses for missionaries, priests, pastors, religious brothers, and religious sisters worldwide, administered through EMI's mutualist system.
• Options et contributions (Contribution Tiers / Plan Options) Multiple contribution tiers (Options 1-4) with escalating reimbursement rates and coverage scopes; Option 4 is the lowest tier. Pricing tailored per group's size and region.
• Réseau de soins (Healthcare Network) A care network comprising 107 hospitals and partner clinics (about 20 Catholic institutions) across Africa and Latin America that provide healthcare services to EMI members, often at negotiated rates.
• Fonds social (Social Fund) A solidarity fund providing additional financial assistance to member groups facing exceptional circumstances, functioning as a safety net for communities in difficulty.
• Rapatriement (Medical Repatriation) Medical evacuation and repatriation services for members requiring care that is not available locally in their mission territory.
• Extranet MSH (Member Platform) An online extranet, powered in partnership with MSH International, that allows group responsables to manage affiliations, submit medical invoices, track reimbursements, and access documentation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 107 hospitals and clinics in the EMI care network, including ~20 Catholic institutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MSH InternationalcoreTechnology or IntegrationMSH International is the operational partner managing EMI's claims processing, reimbursement platform, and group management via an extranet system. This is a long-standing managed services partnership central to EMI's service delivery. MSH handles invoice processing, the Remittance Advice system, and provides technical support to all EMI sections globally.
• Dioceses and Catholic Healthcare Institutions (Network of 107 hospitals/clinics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMI has established a network of 107 partner hospitals and clinics, including approximately 20 Catholic institutions, across Africa and Latin America. These institutions provide healthcare services to EMI members, often at negotiated rates. Some institutions have been approached for formal conventioning agreements with EMI.
• Holy See / VaticancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMI operates with the agreement and support of the Holy See. Pope Francis has publicly encouraged EMI's service to congregations and dioceses for healthcare access. The Vatican issued the document 'Aqua fons vitae' on water and sanitation in healthcare facilities, reflecting shared values in health solidarity.
• Filles de la Charité (Daughters of Charity)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFilles de la Charité host EMI's annual committee director meeting at their Paris location (rue du Bac). They are a key institutional partner in the Catholic health network and active EMI members with groups in Tanzania and globally.
• Conférence des Supérieurs Majeurs de France (CSMF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMI was founded on 30 June 1965 under the auspices of the CSMF (Conference of Major Superiors of France). This founding partnership established the mutualist model for health coverage among French religious congregations, which later expanded internationally.
• SCEAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCardinal Philippe Ouedraogo, President of SCEAM, has publicly promoted EMI across Africa. SCEAM advocates for EMI membership among African bishops and conferences, highlighting its providential role in covering clergy healthcare where national social security systems do not extend to religious workers.
• CLAR (Conferencia de Religiosos de América Latina)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerEMI regularly presents at CLAR assemblies, reaching religious superiors and provincials across Latin America. EMI section responsables participate in CLAR meetings to promote EMI membership among religious congregations.
• CELAM (Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerEMI engages with CELAM (Latin American Bishops' Council), including meetings with Secretary General Mgr Juan Espinosa Jimenez, to discuss health coverage solutions for dioceses and religious communities across the continent.
• Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritains / CSsp)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpiritains are co-founders of EMI (1965). The congregation hosts the Central Africa Section headquarters in Yaoundé at their provincial office and provides section responsables. Several key EMI leaders (including current Central Africa section head Père Armel Hilarion Djondzo Nganwei) are Spiritains.
• Union Saint-MartinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnion Saint-Martin hosts EMI section meetings and working sessions at its Paris premises. Contact person Mr. Sylvain Sacheli is associated with Union Saint-Martin.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Broad incumbents

• Catholic Relief Services: US-based Catholic humanitarian agency operating in 100+ countries with significant health programming. Like EMI, it is institutionally tied to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and addresses health needs in mission territories — though at a much larger scale and broader scope than EMI's mutualist model.
• Aid to the Church in Need: International Catholic pontifical aid organization funding religious communities and clergy in over 140 countries, including health-related support. While its primary mission is financial aid to suffering churches rather than health insurance administration, it operates in the same faith-based support ecosystem with overlapping beneficiary populations.
• Caritas Internationalis: Global Catholic humanitarian confederation operating in over 200 countries, with health programs reaching millions. While broader in scope than EMI (covering disaster relief, social services, advocacy), Caritas shares the Catholic ecosystem anchoring and addresses overlapping beneficiary populations of clergy and religious-affiliated workers.
• Pontifical Mission Societies: Vatican-supervised network supporting Catholic missions worldwide, including aid to missionaries in developing territories. Operates within the same Vatican-endorsed institutional framework as EMI and serves overlapping missionary populations, though it focuses on evangelization support rather than health coverage.
• Catholic Health Association of the United States: US national organization representing Catholic hospitals, health systems, and other health-related organizations. Operates in the same Catholic health ecosystem as EMI and engages Catholic healthcare institutions as partners, though focused on the U.S. delivery system rather than international missionary health coverage.
• Mutualité Chrétienne: Belgian mutualist health insurance organization that historically backed EMI's Belgian section and provided its section responsible (Arnaud Gorgemans). As a broader mutualist health insurer operating on solidarity principles, it shares EMI's mutualist DNA but serves the general Belgian population rather than the religious niche.
• Mutualité Française: French federation of mutualist health insurance organizations operating on solidarity principles similar to EMI's mutualist model. While serving the broader French population rather than religious communities specifically, it shares the non-profit mutualist DNA and the cross-subsidy philosophy that underpins EMI's approach.

Others

• International Catholic Migration Commission: International Catholic organization serving refugees, migrants, and displaced people, including health and social protection programming. Operates in the same Catholic institutional ecosystem as EMI and addresses health-access challenges for vulnerable populations in fragile regions, though its focus is migration rather than religious community coverage.
• Missio Aachen: German Pontifical Mission Society supporting missionary work in Africa, Asia, and Latin America with health and pastoral programming. Operates within the same Vatican-missionary ecosystem and serves overlapping religious populations in mission territories, though focused on financial and material support rather than health insurance administration.

Direct peers

• MSH International: MSH International is EMI's core technology partner, providing the extranet platform for claims processing, reimbursements, and group management. Independently, MSH also designs and manages international health insurance plans for expatriates, missionaries, and international NGO workers — making it a direct peer in the international health coverage space for religious and humanitarian personnel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcVeFBi8xAgZbJ6jQv92kyQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/entraide-missionnaire-internationale---e.m.i.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Entraide Missionnaire Internationale - E.M.I.