Clermont Auvergne PEPITE

What Clermont Auvergne PEPITE does

Clermont Auvergne PEPITE is a public university entrepreneurship support structure (Pôle Étudiant pour l'Innovation, le Transfert et l'Entrepreneuriat) operated by Clermont Auvergne INP on behalf of the entire Université Clermont Auvergne & Associés campus. Founded in 2014 and one of 33 such poles nationally labeled by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (reconfirmed in the 2020 national call for projects), it serves students in licence, master, and doctorate programs as well as recent graduates holding the Statut National d'Étudiant-Entrepreneur. Its mandate is structured around three missions — Sensibiliser (awareness), Former (training), and Accompagner (support) — and operates from the Maison de l'Innovation on the Campus des Cézeaux in Aubière, with ~27 staff.

The product surface is a portfolio of interconnected non-commercial programs rather than a single software product: the core PEPITE Student Entrepreneur Program provides dual academic/external tutor mentoring and access to the D2E (Diplôme d'Étudiant Entrepreneur) credential; PEPITE STARTER is a five-month acceleration program for full-time student entrepreneurs covering technique, marketing, commercial, financial, and HR pillars; Campus Création is a free L3 elective course running October–May for multidisciplinary teams; Boot Camp is a three-day regional event co-organized with CAP, Beelys, and Ozer PEPITEs across Lyon, Clermont, and Grenoble; and Prix Pépite is the national competition run in partnership with Bpifrance.

The business model is non-commercial: Clermont Auvergne PEPITE does not generate revenue from participants and has no pricing model, no investors, and no funding rounds. Operations are funded through public institutional channels (Ministry of Higher Education, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Regional Council) and delivered in kind by host institution Clermont Auvergne INP. Distribution runs entirely through the university's academic referral network — entrepreneurship referents in each UCA school and component (INP, IDEM, ILLSHS, Sciences, SVSAE, IUT) plus the campus website and social channels — with no external go-to-market motion. Customer "concentration" manifests as institutional dependency on a single university rather than revenue concentration, and the supported student projects (cybersecurity training, dietary bakery, scientific video, fashion brand, wellness platform, agritech consulting, sports training) are individual micro-initiatives rather than commercial accounts.

Name

Clermont Auvergne PEPITE

Legal name

Université Clermont Auvergne & Associés - Entrepreneuriat Étudiant

Website

https://entrepreneuriat.uca.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clermont Auvergne PEPITE is a publicly funded university entrepreneurship support structure operated by Clermont Auvergne INP in France. It serves Université Clermont Auvergne students and recent graduates via mentoring, training, and acceleration programs including the D2E diploma, PEPITE STARTER, Campus Création, and Prix Pépite.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Entrepreneurship Support

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK)

Keywords

• Student entrepreneurship support
• University startup incubation
• Business acceleration programs
• Entrepreneurial training courses
• Innovation transfer poles

Headquarters

HQ city

Aubière

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Clermont Auvergne PEPITE is a public university entrepreneurship support structure that delivers the National Student-Entrepreneur Status program and a portfolio of complementary services (PEPITE STARTER acceleration, Campus Création awareness course, Boot Camp regional seminar, Prix PEPITE competition, and the D2E diploma) to students and young graduates of Université Clermont Auvergne. Its core activity is providing sensitization, training, and personalized accompaniment to help students develop entrepreneurial projects and launch businesses.

Product overview

Clermont Auvergne PEPITE is a university entrepreneurship support structure operated by Clermont Auvergne INP on behalf of the Université Clermont Auvergne & Associés. Rather than a single software product, it offers a portfolio of interconnected programs: the core PEPITE Student Entrepreneur Program provides the foundational status and dual-tutor support system, while specialized modules like PEPITE STARTER (acceleration), Campus Création (awareness training), Boot Camp (regional networking), and Prix PEPITE (competition) build upon this foundation. The D2E diploma represents the formal academic credential pathway. Together these services provide a complete funnel from entrepreneurial awareness and sensitization through training, mentorship, and acceleration to competitive recognition.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PEPITE STARTER: An acceleration program for student entrepreneurs who are full-time on their project. The 5-month program runs from March to July, focusing on five pillars: technique, marketing, commercial, financial, and human resources.
• Campus Création
• Prix PEPITE
• Boot Camp

Products and services

• PEPITE Student Entrepreneur Program National student-entrepreneur status program providing mentorship, training, and support for students and young graduates wanting to start a business. Includes access to academic and external tutors, workshops, and networking opportunities. For UCA students and young graduates.
• PEPITE STARTER Five-month acceleration program for student entrepreneurs who are full-time on their project, running from March to July. Covers five pillars: technique, marketing, commercial, financial, and human resources. Features bootcamp, midterm review, and final pitch day.
• Boot Camp Annual three-day regional entrepreneurship seminar bringing together student entrepreneurs from the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region (Lyon, Clermont, Grenoble) to work on entrepreneurial themes, develop networks, and share experiences. Organized collaboratively with CAP, Beelys, and Ozer PEPITEs.
• Prix PEPITE Annual national competition initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research in partnership with Bpifrance, supporting innovative business and association creation projects by students and young graduates holding the Student-Entrepreneur status. Provides prize funding and support for student startup projects.
• Campus Création Free elective course (UE libre) for sensitization to entrepreneurship, designed for L3 students. Brings together students from different programs to work in multidisciplinary teams on fictional business creation projects from October to May.
• D2E (Diplôme d'Étudiant Entrepreneur) Student entrepreneur diploma allowing students to pursue their entrepreneurial project while continuing their studies, with personalized coaching from academic and external mentors.

Named customers8 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CAP PEPITEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Regional collaboration for organizing joint Boot Camps and entrepreneurship events across the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.
• Beelys PEPITEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Regional collaboration for organizing joint Boot Camps and entrepreneurship events across the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.
• Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Regional CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Provides funding and support for regional entrepreneurship events including the annual Boot Camp bringing together student entrepreneurs from Lyon, Grenoble, and Clermont-Ferrand.
• Clermont Auvergne INPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClermont Auvergne PEPITE is hosted by Clermont Auvergne INP on behalf of the entire university site. This institutional relationship provides the organizational backbone and academic credibility for the entrepreneurship program.
• Ozer PEPITEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional collaboration for organizing joint Boot Camps and entrepreneurship events across the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.
• Ministry of Higher Education and ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiator and national coordinator of the PEPITE program, providing official recognition and framework for student entrepreneurship support across France.
• CoCoShaker IncubatorsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal startup incubator that has collaborated with student entrepreneurs from the Made in Fripe project.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Beelys PEPITE: PÉPITE pole hosted at Université Grenoble Alpes, directly comparable to Clermont Auvergne PEPITE as a same-network regional student entrepreneurship support structure collaborating on joint Boot Camps.
• CAP PEPITE: One of the 33 nationally labeled French PÉPITE poles, based in Lyon, and a direct collaborator with Clermont Auvergne PEPITE on regional Boot Camps and student entrepreneurship events across Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
• EM Lyon Ventures: Lyon-based business school incubator supporting student and alumni entrepreneurs; a direct peer in regional student entrepreneurship support within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
• HEC Paris Startup Launchpad: Major French university-based student and graduate startup support program offering mentoring, workspace, and incubation — directly comparable as a higher-education-anchored entrepreneurship program, though with a larger commercial-scale footprint.
• CentraleSupélec Incubateur: Engineering school's startup incubator for student entrepreneurs; comparable as a French grande école-based entrepreneurship support structure with similar mentoring, training, and acceleration offerings.
• Paris-Est PEPITE: Another PÉPITE pole in the national 33-pole network, hosted in the Paris region; directly comparable as a same-program regional student entrepreneurship support structure.
• Ozer PEPITE: Lyon-area PÉPITE pole (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3), part of the same national network of 33 student entrepreneurship poles and a direct regional peer collaborating on Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes events.
• X-Up / École Polytechnique Startup Studio: Polytechnique's incubator for student and doctoral entrepreneurs, comparable as a French engineering-school entrepreneurship support program offering mentoring, status, and acceleration paths for student founders.

Broad incumbents

• Station F: Largest startup campus in the world, based in Paris; broad-incumbent player in French early-stage entrepreneurship support, with student-oriented programs that overlap with PEPITE's target population at much larger scale.

Others

• Bpifrance Le Hub: France's public investment bank, partner of Clermont Auvergne PEPITE on the Prix PÉPITE competition; relevant as the ecosystem-level funding and support partner that connects PEPITE graduates to national startup financing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

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