Les Ecossolies

Name

Les Ecossolies

Legal name

Les Ecossolies

Website

https://ecossolies.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social and Solidarity Economy Network Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Monitoring, Evaluation, Research & Learning (MERL) (BPAGABAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)

Keywords

• Social economy incubation
• Entrepreneurship training programs
• Cooperative network management
• Sustainability advisory services
• Community coworking spaces

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues (Adhésion): Les Ecossolies is an association whose legal form is an association loi 1901 (as stated in mentions légales). Members pay adhesion fees to join the network. The SIRET is 48968254200027, Code APE: 9499Z.
2. Training services: The organization offers professional training programs for ESS employees, project founders, and volunteers, including courses on social utility qualification, reuse sector knowledge, communication, and transversal competencies. Training revenue is a paid service for participants.
3. Event management and market operations: L'Autre Marché (annual Christmas market) generated over 600,000 € in sales for exhibitors in 2024 and draws ~100,000 visitors, with Les Ecossolies organizing and operating the event. Revenue may derive from exhibitor fees and operational sponsorship.
4. Incubator and accompaniment programs: Les Ecossolies operates structured accompaniment programs (De l'idée au projet, Incubateur, Accélérateur, Labo Habitat Inclusif, Fabrique à initiatives) providing multi-stage support to ESS entrepreneurs, likely funded through institutional partnerships and program grants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Les Ecossolies operates a territorial cooperative network that supports social and solidarity economy (ESS) projects through structured accompaniment programs (Incubateur, Accélérateur, Parcours Popcorn, Labo Habitat Inclusif, Fabrique à initiatives), professional training, free legal and accounting consultations, and large recurring public events such as L'Autre Marché and Festival DeuxMains. It manages the Le Solilab third-place coworking hub in Nantes, hosting approximately 140 member structures, and maintains an online directory of ESS organizations across Loire-Atlantique.

Product overview

Les Ecossolies is a cooperative network for social and solidarity economy (ESS) that operates primarily as a service organization rather than a traditional product company. Its portfolio consists of accompaniment programs (Incubateur, Accélérateur, Popcorn, Labo Habitat Inclusif, La Fabrique à initiatives, De l'idée au projet), training services, and major public events (Festival DeuxMains, L'Autre Marché, La Folie des Plantes). The organization also manages Le Solilab, a coworking third-place, and maintains a network directory (L'annuaire du réseau) and publication (Les Pages Vertes). All offerings work together to support ESS entrepreneurship, project development, and the solidarity reuse sector in the Nantes metropolitan area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Le Solilab (Third-place coworking hub) Physical coworking, event and community space in Nantes providing workspace for ~140 member ESS structures, plus a café, a reuse store (magasin), a farmers' market (marché paysan), bike services, and the Pépilab urban agriculture project. Offered to social economy organizations, project founders and the general public.
• Incubateur (12-month incubation program) 12-month collective and individual accompaniment program for launching new ESS projects. The 2026 cohort welcomed 6 projects involving 11 founders spanning habitat inclusif, culture, food and other sectors. For social entrepreneurs in Loire-Atlantique.
• Accélérateur (Acceleration program) Acceleration program for established ESS structures looking to scale their impact and operations. For directors and managers of existing social economy associations, cooperatives and companies.
• De l'idée au projet (From idea to project) Program guiding project leaders through the early stages of developing their ESS initiative from concept to launch. For individuals with nascent social enterprise ideas.
• Parcours Popcorn (Entrepreneurship awareness program) Multi-day collective accompaniment program for testing entrepreneurial ideas within the social and solidarity economy framework. Accompanied 27 people in Autumn 2024 and 28 in March 2024 across Loire-Atlantique. For aspiring social entrepreneurs.
• Labo Habitat Inclusif (Inclusive housing program) Specialized accompaniment program focused on developing inclusive housing projects for seniors and people with disabilities. For project leaders and structures developing habitat inclusif initiatives.
• La Fabrique à initiatives (Initiatives factory) Program designed to stimulate and support innovative ESS project creation across the territory. For groups and structures seeking to launch new solidarity initiatives.
• Formations (Professional training catalog) Paid training programs for ESS employees, project founders, volunteers and accompanying actors covering social utility qualification (150€ per binôme), reuse sector knowledge, digital communication, and transversal competencies. Delivered onsite at Le Solilab and via video conference across Pays de la Loire.
• Festival DeuxMains (Second-hand solidarity festival) Annual festival celebrating second-hand and solidarity reuse, bringing together over 50 exhibitors including repair cafés, creators and resource centers across 4,000 m². Open to the general public and ESS structures.
• L'Autre Marché (Ethical and solidarity Christmas market) Ethical and solidarity-based Christmas market held in central Nantes, featuring ESS producers, artisans and second-hand sellers. The 2024 edition generated over 600,000€ in exhibitor sales and attracted nearly 100,000 visitors. Open to the general public and ESS exhibitors.
• La Folie des Plantes (Plants and urban agriculture event) Plant-focused event celebrating urban agriculture and green initiatives, providing a commercial showcase for ESS structures in the horticulture and urban agriculture sector. Open to the general public and ESS exhibitors.
• L'annuaire du réseau (Network directory) Online directory of ESS member structures in the Loire-Atlantique region, allowing the public, partners and member organizations to discover and connect with social economy actors across reuse, food, habitat, culture, inclusion and mobility sectors.
• Permanences gratuites (Free legal and accounting consultations) Monthly free legal and accounting advisory sessions offered to ESS structures in Loire-Atlantique. For directors and project leaders of social economy organizations.
• Les Pages Vertes (Annual reuse directory publication) Annual printed and online directory of second-hand and reuse locations across Loire-Atlantique, functioning as a green pages guide to sustainable consumption. Distributed to the general public and partner structures.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~100,000 visitors attracted by L'Autre Marché 2024, generating 600,000€+ in exhibitor sales
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ville de NantescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Ecossolies collaborates closely with the City of Nantes as a key institutional supporter, particularly for major events such as L'Autre Marché (held at Esplanade Feydeau, Nantes) and Festival DeuxMains, as well as broader territorial development programs.
• Nantes MétropolecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNantes Métropole partners with Les Ecossolies on shared policy goals including the development of the reuse sector, habitat inclusif, and the overall ESS ecosystem across the metropolitan area.
• Région Pays de la LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe regional council supports Les Ecossolies' accompaniment programs, training activities, and cross-territory ESS development initiatives, including the CRESS Pays de la Loire cooperative-filière project co-funded by FEDER.
• Crédit MutuelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrédit Mutuel is listed among the associated partners of Les Ecossolies, providing financial or operational support to the network.
• Baker TillyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBaker Tilly is listed among the associated partners of Les Ecossolies, providing expertise or sponsorship to the network.
• Lieux Communs (Scic)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLieux Communs is the Scic cooperative that manages Le Solilab on a daily basis. It is an affiliated structure of Les Ecossolies and operates services including the conciergerie de chantier for Île de Nantes construction sites, with support from ADEME and Région.
• CRESS Pays de la LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Ecossolies works with the Chamber of Social and Solidarity Economy (CRESS) on cooperative sector projects, joint training cycles on reuse traceability, and the FEDER-funded departmental ESS network project.
• Moneko (Monnaie locale)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoneko is the local complementary currency of Loire-Atlantique (MLC44). It operates at L'Autre Marché and other ESS events, with Moneko appearing on Les Ecossolies' partner pages and event programming.
• Jeunes Talents de Loire-Atlantique (Presse Océan / Département)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLes Ecossolies supports member projects in competing for the annual Jeunes Talents de Loire-Atlantique award organized by Presse Océan and the Loire-Atlantique department.
• Terroirs 44minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTerroirs 44 is a partner for farmers' market activities at L'Autre Marché and Solilab, providing local producer connections.
• Ouvre-Boîtes 44minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOuvre-Boîtes 44 is a CAE (Coopérative d'Activité et d'Emploi) and cooperative support network active in the Loire-Atlantique ecosystem, partnering with Les Ecossolies on accompaniment programs and events.
• Pôle ESS VendéeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPôle ESS Vendée collaborates with Les Ecossolies on regional accompaniment initiatives and joint training cycles (reuse traceability cycle co-organized with CRESS, IRESA, and others).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• La Nef: La Nef is a cooperative bank serving the social and solidarity economy, financing many of the same ESS structures Les Ecossolies accompanies. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor, but shares the same mission-aligned client base.

Emerging players

• La Fonda: La Fonda is a French think tank focused on the associative and solidarity economy. It complements Les Ecossolies' on-the-ground accompaniment with research, foresight, and policy analysis on the same ESS themes.

Direct peers

• Avise: Avise is a national center of expertise supporting the social and solidarity economy, providing resources, methodologies, and accompaniment tools. It operates in the same ESS support space as Les Ecossolies but at national scope rather than regional.
• France Active: France Active is a national network financing and supporting ESS entrepreneurship across France. It co-animates entrepreneurship events with Les Ecossolies and serves an overlapping member base of social enterprises needing accompaniment, financing access, and ecosystem connections.
• ATIS: ATIS is a regional ESS support organization offering incubation, accompaniment, and formation services to social enterprises. Its scope and program structure closely mirror Les Ecossolies' Popcorn-to-Accélérateur pipeline in a different French territory.
• Mouvement Sol: Mouvement Sol is a French movement aggregating ESS networks and actors around a shared platform and territorial engagement. It pursues an analogous mission of federating social economy actors and amplifying their voice at the policy level.
• La Maison de l'ESS: La Maison de l'ESS operates a similar third-place and ESS network hub model, providing shared workspace, events, and accompaniment for social enterprises. Its hybrid physical-network offering is directly comparable to Le Solilab.
• CRESS Pays de la Loire: CRESS is the regional chamber of the social and solidarity economy in Pays de la Loire, a direct institutional partner of Les Ecossolies on the FEDER-funded departmental cooperation project. It represents the broader ESS ecosystem that Les Ecossolies actively mobilizes and serves.

Broad incumbents

• COORACE: COORACE is a national federation of organizations supporting employment inclusion and the social economy. It represents a broader umbrella over structures like Les Ecossolies, with overlapping concerns around inclusion, ESS development, and policy advocacy.
• Le Mouvement Associatif: Le Mouvement Associatif is the national coordination body for French associations, representing a much wider associative ecosystem of which Les Ecossolies is a part. It engages in similar ESS policy advocacy and member support at national scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LesEcossolies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecossolies
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecossolies.solilab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Les Ecossolies