What Grand Cognac does

Grand Cognac (Communauté d'agglomération de Grand Cognac) is a French public territorial administration established under French law as a communauté d'agglomération, serving 55 communes within the Charente department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is governed by elected officials led by President Jérôme Sourisseau and operates from its headquarters at 6 rue de Valdepeñas in Cognac. The organization delivers a comprehensive portfolio of public services to three primary constituencies: residents of the 55 communes (accessing public services, family services, waste management, water and sanitation, cultural and sports facilities), local businesses and entrepreneurs (business zones, subsidized business hotels, export support, agricultural installation aid), and visitors (tourism, heritage sites, river cruises, the 'Villages de Pierres et de Vignes' program). Additional segments include tourists interested in cognac heritage and the agricultural sector, particularly cognac and wine producers receiving transition and export support.

The organization's core technology platform is a digital service portal (grand-cognac.fr) that provides residents and businesses online access to administrative procedures including waste collection scheduling, water and sanitation management, urban planning applications, family services, and online payments via the PayFIP Treasury gateway. A multi-year, 9.4 million euro fiber optic infrastructure deployment, executed jointly through the Charente Numérique mixed syndicate (created December 2016 with the Charente Department and Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine), underpins the 'France très haut débit' plan to deliver very high-speed broadband across the entire territory. Operational service delivery occurs through three distribution channels: the in-person headquarters office in Cognac, a network of France Services offices providing proximate access to public services, and the online self-service portal. The entity has no mobile application, no public API or SDK, and a partial RGAA accessibility compliance posture (43% RGESN digital eco-design score as of May 2025).

Grand Cognac's fiscal model is that of a public intercommunal structure with no commercial revenue in the conventional sense. Funding flows from three streams: recurring local taxes and fiscal contributions from residents and enterprises (property taxes, business taxes), managed government subsidies and intergovernmental transfers (state subsidies, European LEADER 2023-2027 funding, regional and departmental transfers for infrastructure and development), and transaction-based service fees (water, sanitation, waste collection, administrative procedures). Its go-to-market is direct-to-public: services are delivered through physical offices, online portals, and partner municipalities, with multi-channel resident communications spanning social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), a quarterly 'Grand Mag' magazine, email newsletters, and community events. Because it is a public administration, there are no shareholders, venture capital backers, or equity instruments; accountability flows through the Conseil communautaire to the 55 member municipalities.

Name

Grand Cognac

Legal name

Communauté d'agglomération de Grand Cognac

Website

https://grand-cognac.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Grand Cognac (Communauté d'agglomération de Grand Cognac) is a French public territorial administration serving 55 communes in the Charente department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, delivering public services including water/sanitation, waste, urban planning, transport, culture, and economic development to residents, businesses, and visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cognac

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Local Taxes and Fiscal Revenue: Revenue from local taxes including property taxes, business taxes, and other fiscal contributions from residents and enterprises within the 55 communes of the agglomeration.
2. Government Subsidies and Transfers: State subsidies, European funding (including LEADER program), and intergovernmental transfers for infrastructure, development, and public service projects.
3. Service Fees: Fees for various public services including water and sanitation, waste collection, and administrative services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grand Cognac is a French public territorial administration (communauté d'agglomération) that delivers public services and infrastructure across 55 communes in the Charente department. Its core offerings include water and sanitation management, household waste collection, public transportation (Transcom bus service), cultural facilities (médiathèques, conservatory of music and dramatic art), sports facilities and aquatic centers, family services, urban planning, tourism promotion (heritage villages and river cruises), and economic development support including 22 business activity zones, two business hotels, export assistance, and the LEADER 2023-2027 program.

Product overview

Grand Cognac is a territorial administration (communauté d'agglomération) that provides public services to its territory, including water and sanitation management, waste collection and disposal, sports facilities and aquatic centers, cultural services (mediatheques, conservatory), tourism promotion, economic development support, urban planning, transportation (bus service Transcom), healthcare facilities support, and environmental initiatives. It is not a technology product company but rather a public administration managing communal infrastructure and services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water and Sanitation Service Public water supply and wastewater treatment service delivered to residents and businesses across the 55 communes of the Grand Cognac territory, covering both the 'grand cycle' and 'petit cycle' of water.
• Waste Collection and Management Household and business waste collection and disposal service with online scheduling, delivered across the 55 communes of the agglomeration.
• Transcom Public Bus Transportation Public bus transportation service providing mobility across the Grand Cognac agglomeration for residents and visitors.
• Sports Facilities and Aquatic Centers Public swimming pools and sports facilities providing aquatic and sporting services to residents and sports associations of the agglomeration.
• Cultural Services (Médiathèques and Conservatory) Network of public médiathèques (libraries) and a conservatory of music and dramatic art offering cultural programming, lending, and arts education to residents.
• Business Real Estate (Zones d'Activités and Hôtels d'Entreprises) Provision of 22 developed business activity zones and two subsidized business hotels in Cognac and Jarnac offering commercial real estate for young businesses, startups, and established enterprises.
• Economic Development Support and Business Aid Programs Programs supporting business creation, expansion, export assistance, trade fair participation, industrial subcontracting, and ecological transition, including the LEADER 2023-2027 funding program.
• Tourism Promotion and Heritage Villages Tourism promotion including the 'Villages de Pierres et de Vignes' heritage program covering Bassac, Bourg-Charente, Lignières-Ambleville, and Mosnac-Saint-Simeux, river cruises with La Demoiselle, accommodation listings, and cultural programming in partnership with Destination Cognac.
• Very High Speed Internet (Fiber Optic) Service Territory-wide fiber optic broadband infrastructure service delivered under the France Très Haut Débit plan via the Charente Numérique mixed syndicate, with a €9.4 million investment voted by Grand Cognac elected officials, providing high-speed internet access to residents and businesses.
• Family and Childcare Services Public family services including childcare support, family activities, and administrative family services for residents of the agglomeration.
• Agricultural Installation Aid Financial and advisory support program for agricultural installation, targeting local farmers including wine, cognac, and pineau producers, with export assistance and sustainable farming transition support.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Destination CognacmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2026Tourism promotion partner managing reservations and information for summer animations in the 'Villages de Pierres et de Vignes' program. Activities are booked through their platform.
• Agence Nationale de la Cohésion des Territoires (ANCT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021National agency providing support to the Petites Villes de Demain program. Grand Cognac benefits from engineering access, funding opportunities, and a network for sharing best practices through this partnership. Three communes (Jarnac, Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, Segonzac) benefit from this program for urban revitalization.
• Charente NumériquecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Mixed syndicate created in December 2016 responsible for deploying very high-speed internet across the entire Grand Cognac territory. The organization manages the fiber optic infrastructure project with an investment of 9.4 million euros. Multiple public entities including the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, Charente Department, and all communities of the department are members.
• Department of CharentecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The Department of Charente is a key partner in implementing the 'France très haut débit' plan on the Grand Cognac territory. The department oversees the deployment of very high-speed internet infrastructure.
• Région Nouvelle-AquitainecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region is a member of the Charente Numérique mixed syndicate and contributes to the financing and strategic direction of digital infrastructure deployment across the territory.
• Charente NatureminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEnvironmental organization partnered with Grand Cognac for nature discovery activities and ecological education programs in the territory.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Limoges Métropole: Nouvelle-Aquitaine intercommunal structure of broadly comparable scale, with a similar mix of urban core and rural communes. Comparable on fibre deployment, economic development and cultural facility management.
• La Rochelle Agglomération: Nearby coastal Nouvelle-Aquitaine agglomeration with similar competencies (water, waste, economic zones, tourism). Relevant for comparing tourism-led economic development and fibre rollout.
• Grand Poitiers: Nouvelle-Aquitaine agglomeration community of similar scale and remit, operating the same mix of water, waste, transport, economic development and cultural services. Comparable on budget structure, fibre deployment (also via Charente Numérique area) and Petites Villes de Demain participation.
• Communauté d'Agglomération Bergeracoise: Smaller rural/peri-urban agglomeration in Dordogne (Nouvelle-Aquitaine) with a viticulture-anchored economy, broadly comparable in scale and economic profile. Useful as a peer for rural agglomeration fiscal dynamics.
• Grand Angoulême: Communauté d'agglomération covering the Angoulême area in the same Charente department, with a comparable rural/semi-urban perimeter and an identical intercommunal structure. It is the closest geographic and functional peer for service-mix and fiscal-base comparisons.
• Saintes Grandes Rives, L'Agglo: Charente-Maritime agglomeration community of broadly similar size, with a tourism/wine economy and overlapping rural communes. Useful as a peer for tourism, viticulture support and small-city agglomeration dynamics.
• Niort Agglo: Deux-Sèvres agglomeration community near Nouvelle-Aquitaine, with a comparable perimeter of small communes and a similar service portfolio (water, waste, economic zones, cultural facilities).

Broad incumbents

• Bordeaux Métropole: The dominant Nouvelle-Aquitaine métropole, providing the regional scale reference for public-service delivery, transport and economic development. It anchors the same Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and is a comparable on broader strategic priorities even though its scale is much larger.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GrandCognac
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3qhWVUunflg0XzsLrm3Dhg
• Facebookfacebook.com/grandcognac
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grand-cognac
• Instagraminstagram.com/grandcognac

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Grand Cognac