Erasmus Student Network - ESN Paris

What Erasmus Student Network - ESN Paris does

ESN Paris is a non-profit student association (association étudiante) and the local Paris chapter of the pan-European Erasmus Student Network, operating since 1989 in Paris, France. The organization exists to welcome and support international students arriving in Paris for Erasmus+ and other exchange or degree programs, addressing social integration, orientation to local systems, and language barriers. Its primary commercial offering is the ESNcard membership, sold through an online pre-registration portal and on-site at events, supplemented by 36 annual events including the weekly Café des Langues and a Welcome Week onboarding program. ESN Paris serves 368+ international students drawn from 14+ Paris-area universities including Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 4 Sorbonne Université, Paris 5 Descartes, Paris 8 Saint-Denis, Paris 10 Nanterre, Paris 13 Villetaneuse, UPEC, UPEM, Dauphine, and UVSQ, with institutional partnerships at the core of its distribution model.

The organization's technology stack is built on low-cost open-source infrastructure: WordPress for the public site, a custom PHP CRM at esn.paris/crm for membership pre-registration, validation, and volunteer login with GDPR-compliant data collection, a self-hosted YOURLS URL shortener with geo-IP tracking and a REST API, and a PHP QR code generator for event tools. Content assets include multilingual survival guides in English, Spanish, and French published as PDFs. The association runs on 12 paid staff supplemented by 18 active volunteers, with no parent company, no funding rounds, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed ownership or governance structure.

The business model is fundamentally a non-profit membership-and-events operation. Revenue derives from ESNcard membership sales (price not publicly disclosed) and event participation fees, with the Welcome Week flow accepting on-site cash/card payment but not online pre-registration. Pricing is not transparent, the customer base is entirely B2C (individual students), and the organization operates exclusively within the Paris metropolitan area with no foreign market presence. There is no mobile app, no documented management team, no disclosed certifications, and no M&A or capital-markets activity. The publicly crawled website also exposes an open directory listing that reveals server files, including a private key and bash history, which is an operational security concern rather than a strategic feature.

Name

Erasmus Student Network - ESN Paris

Legal name

ESN Paris

Website

https://esn.paris

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ESN Paris is a non-profit student association and local chapter of Erasmus Student Network that welcomes and supports international students in Paris through ESNcard membership, 36 annual events, and multilingual survival guides.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Student Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International Student Travel, Re-entry & Document Services (travel signatures, re-entry guidance) (EDALANAG)

Keywords

• International student support
• Student membership programs
• Cultural exchange events
• University student services
• ESNcard membership

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ESNcard Membership Sales: International students and volunteers purchase ESNcard memberships. Cards can be purchased online (pre-registration with email delivery) or on-site at Café des Langues events. The membership supports the association's activities of welcoming international students and organising events.
2. Event Participation: Revenue is generated through event participation, including the Welcome Week, Café des Langues, and other 36 annual events. Some events such as Welcome Week may involve additional fees beyond the ESNcard membership.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ESN Paris is a non-profit student association that supports international and exchange students in the Paris metropolitan area by selling the ESNcard membership and organising around 36 community events annually, including Welcome Week and the weekly Café des Langues language-exchange event. It also distributes multilingual survival guides (English, Spanish, French) and operates a custom PHP-based CRM for ESNcard pre-registration, validation, and member tracking.

Product overview

ESN Paris is a student association focused on welcoming international students and promoting international mobility. The organization operates a membership management system (CRM) for ESNcard registration and member tracking, a YOURLS-based URL shortening service for branded link sharing, multilingual survival guides for international students, and weekly Cafe des Langues social events. The tech stack includes WordPress for public website, a custom PHP CRM, and YOURLS for URL management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ESNcard Membership The core paid membership product for international students in Paris, providing access to ESN Paris events, community network, and member benefits. ESNcards can be purchased online via the CRM with email delivery or picked up in person at Café des Langues events.
• Welcome Week An orientation event at the start of each semester/session for newly arriving international students, featuring on-site ESNcard registration and welcome activities. Payment is accepted on site only (cash or card); not available through online pre-registration.
• Café des Langues A weekly Monday evening language exchange and social event held at Le Royal Est bar in Paris, where members can pick up their physical ESNcards and participate in social networking activities. Cash and card payments are accepted on site.
• Survival Guide (English, Spanish, French editions) Practical information resources for international students in Paris, covering presentations, practical information about living in Paris, things to do in Paris and surrounding areas, testimonials, and acknowledgments. Available in English, Spanish, and French editions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 368+ international students served through ESN Paris activities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Paris-area Universities (Paris 1–Paris 13, Dauphine, UVSQ, UPEC, UPEM and others)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESN Paris has institutional relationships with multiple Paris-area universities including Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas, Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 4 Sorbonne Université, Paris 5 Descartes, Paris 6/7, Paris 8 Saint-Denis, Paris 10 Nanterre, Paris 13 Villetaneuse, UPEC, UPEM, Dauphine, UVSQ, and Cergy-Pontoise. The association's membership system tracks student university affiliations and serves as a bridge between universities and international students.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BEST (Board of European Students of Technology): Pan-European non-profit student organization offering events, training, and mobility support to technology students across Europe. Directly comparable volunteer-driven, event-based model serving international student communities.
• ESN France: National federation of Erasmus Student Network in France, of which ESN Paris is a local section. Directly comparable as the umbrella body coordinating student mobility programming, ESNcard distribution, and event frameworks across French ESN sections.
• ESN Barcelona: Sibling local ESN section in Barcelona operating the same ESNcard membership model, Welcome Week programming, and international student welcome services for Erasmus+ exchange students in another major European student city.
• AIESEC: Global youth-led organization running international exchange programs for students and recent graduates. Comparable as a non-profit, volunteer-driven platform facilitating cross-border student mobility, cultural exchange, and integration support.
• ESN Germany: National federation of ESN sections in Germany. Comparable as a parallel network of volunteer-led local ESN sections organizing international student welcome events and ESNcard membership across another major European country.

Emerging players

• Studapart: French platform helping international students find housing in France. Adjacent in serving the same international-student-in-France persona and addressing common pain points (housing, integration), though focused on a specific vertical.
• Studely: Financial services platform designed for international students in France, including banking access and rent guarantees. Comparable as a service provider targeting the same international-student-in-Paris customer segment with complementary integration support.

Broad incumbents

• Campus France: French national agency promoting international student mobility and welcoming foreign students to France. Overlaps with ESN Paris's mission of welcoming and integrating international students in France, but operates as a public-sector institution at national scale.
• International Student Identity Card (ISIC): Globally recognized student discount and identity card. Comparable membership-product model serving international students with discounts and benefits, but operates globally rather than through local volunteer chapters.
• Erasmus Mundus: EU-funded international Masters and doctoral mobility program supporting international students across European universities. Directly relevant as the upstream program whose participants form ESN Paris's core target segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esn-paris

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 Erasmus Student Network - ESN Paris