L'Agora - Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC

What L'Agora - Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC does

L'Agora - Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC is a French student association (association loi 1901) affiliated with EDHEC Business School, founded in 2002 and based primarily at EDHEC's Lille campus in Roubaix, Hauts-de-France. The organization hosts monthly public debates and conferences in EDHEC's 900-seat auditorium, featuring prominent French and international personalities from politics, economics, culture, and sport; over 23 years it has organized more than 160 conferences and hosted nearly 200 distinguished guests, including former French president François Hollande, Alain Juppé, Michel Sapin, Juan Branco, and Jean-Michel Fauvergue. Its product surface comprises three core formats: Conférences (monthly live debates with notable guests), Rencontres (short 15-minute interview videos launched in 2020 featuring guests such as Hubert Védrine and Guillaume Gallienne), and Podcasts (audio distribution of Rencontres across all major podcast platforms).

The organization's business model is non-commercial: all conferences are free and open to the public (libre d'accès), and the association does not disclose revenue. Operational viability rests on institutional support from EDHEC Business School (core partner since 2002, providing the auditorium and academic affiliation) and a sequenced set of media and corporate partnerships — France Bleu Nord (2021), Oresys (2022), WéoTV (2024), and TGS France (2025) — alongside content partnerships with Marianne magazine and 1besoin des solutions. Distribution is multi-channel, combining on-campus events at EDHEC's Lille and Nice campuses with digital content distributed via YouTube, Spotify and other podcast platforms, plus Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Facebook. The organization is led by student leadership, currently president Chad Pierre-Elies of the XXIIIrd generation, with a team of approximately 33 student members overseeing guest relations, partner relations, content creation, and communications.

Name

L'Agora - Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC

Legal name

L'Agora, Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC

Website

https://lagora-edhec.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

L'Agora is a 23-year-old French student association at EDHEC Business School that organizes free monthly public conferences with prominent personalities in a 900-seat auditorium, alongside short interview videos and podcasts distributed across digital platforms. It serves EDHEC students, the Lille metropolitan community, and international audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Debate Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

Keywords

• Student debate forum
• Public conferences
• Speaker interviews
• Podcast production
• Campus events

Headquarters

HQ city

Roubaix

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

L'Agora is a student-led debate association that organizes monthly free public conferences featuring notable French and international personalities in the 900-seat EDHEC auditorium in Lille. It also produces "Les Rencontres," a short 15-minute interview video series launched in 2020, distributed online and as audio podcasts on all major platforms. Across 23 years, it has hosted nearly 200 guests and over 160 conferences covering economic, political, cultural, and social topics.

Product overview

L'Agora is a student debate organization at EDHEC Business School offering three main products: Conférences (monthly conferences with notable personalities in a 900-seat auditorium), Rencontres (15-minute interview format launched in 2020), and Podcasts (audio distribution of meetings). The organization promotes democracy, critical thinking, and freedom of debate, having hosted nearly 200 guests over 23 years of existence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Les Rencontres de l'Agora: Short 15-minute interview format launched in 2020, featuring notable personalities in video format distributed online and as podcasts.

Products and services

• Conférences (Monthly Conferences) Monthly in-person conferences held at the EDHEC Business School auditorium featuring notable French and international personalities from politics, economics, culture, and sports who discuss current affairs. The format includes a humorous introductory billet d'humeur, a micro-trottoir (street poll) from the Lille public, a structured interview conducted by two association members, and an audience Q&A. Free and open to the public.
• Les Rencontres Short 15-minute interview video format launched in 2020, featuring notable personalities in concise online-friendly discussions. Distributed digitally through the L'Agora website, YouTube, and social media channels, serving online audiences who cannot attend in-person conferences.
• Podcasts Audio versions of the Les Rencontres interviews distributed as podcasts on all major podcast platforms, covering economic, political, social, and cultural topics. Enables audio consumption of L'Agora's interview content for broader audience reach.

Named customers5 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 minor and core.

• TGS FranceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025French audit, consulting, and accounting group with over 1,700 collaborators across 100 agencies. Partner providing financial and marketing support.
• WéoTVminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Regional French television channel covering Hauts-de-France region. Programming focuses on news, culture, sports, and local events.
• OresysminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022Independent consulting firm supporting CAC 40 companies and ETIs since 1981. 7 agencies in France and Switzerland, 350 consultants.
• France Bleu NordminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Public regional radio station broadcasting in Nord and Pas-de-Calais since 1980. Part of Radio France group, providing media coverage and audience reach.
• EDHEC Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Primary institutional partner since 2002. EDHEC provides access to 900-seat auditorium at their Lille campus (Croix location) and ongoing support. This partnership enables L'Agora to host major conferences with distinguished speakers.
• Marianne (Magazine)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench national weekly magazine founded in 1997, published every Friday with 220,000+ copies weekly. Associated with online and TV content.
• 1besoin des solutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTechnology solutions company providing custom development services for specific project needs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TED (TED Conferences): TED operates large-scale intellectual conferences and short-form video content featuring prominent speakers across politics, business, and culture. It is a broad incumbent that shares L'Agora's core format (curated talks with notable personalities) but operates at significantly larger global scale with paid events and a massive digital content library.
• Public Sénat: Public Sénat is France's public affairs television channel covering political debate and featuring interviews with prominent political figures. It parallels L'Agora's focus on political and public affairs discourse featuring notable personalities but operates as a permanent broadcast platform rather than event-driven programming.
• France Culture (Radio France): France Culture is France's primary public radio station dedicated to intellectual and cultural programming, featuring debates, interviews, and discussions with prominent figures. It parallels L'Agora's mission of democratizing intellectual debate but operates at national scale through broadcast media rather than in-person campus events.
• Le Monde Festival: Le Monde Festival is an annual intellectual event organized by Le Monde newspaper featuring prominent French and international figures in debate and interview formats. It shares L'Agora's forum-style format with notable personalities but operates as a national-scale, media-backed event rather than a campus-based one.

Direct peers

• Sciences Po Conferences: Sciences Po Paris hosts prominent speaker series and intellectual debates at one of France's premier institutions for political science and international relations. It is a direct peer to L'Agora in the French elite-academic debate-tribune tradition, featuring similarly high-caliber political and intellectual personalities on a university campus.
• ESSEC Student Conferences: ESSEC Business School, another leading French grande école, hosts student-organized conferences and speaker events. It parallels L'Agora in operating within the French business school ecosystem with student-driven debate programming featuring prominent external personalities.
• HEC Paris Tribune: HEC Paris hosts student-organized speaker events and debate forums featuring prominent business and political figures. It is the most direct analog to L'Agora as a top French business school's student tribune, sharing the same institutional format of student-led conferences with notable personalities on a grande école campus.

Emerging players

• TEDx (Independent TED Events): TEDx events are independently organized, smaller-scale TED-licensed events held at universities, businesses, and communities worldwide. They share L'Agora's format of short-form intellectual talks with curated speakers at a localized venue, representing a more scalable franchise model of L'Agora's core concept.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@lagoraedhec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/l'agora---tribune-%C3%A9tudiante-de-l'edhec

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 L'Agora - Tribune Étudiante de l'EDHEC