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Based in Cahors (Lot), the aeronautical and automotive supplier Soben is preparing a capital increase of 2 million euros. This sum, Benjamin Talon, president of this company of 20 employees and 2 million euros in turnover, intends to achieve it through the internet crowdfunding platform Épargne Occitanie. This was created this spring by the Occitanie region, the regional CCI, and Wiseed, an investment services provider (PSI) approved by the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR).
With Épargne Occitanie, individuals can invest in companies in the region.
It is in a way the principle of the short circuit applied to finance.
"These 2 million euros only represent a part of our needs,"
continues Benjamin Talon.
We are also going to look for international investors.
However, with a significant share of regional investors by our side, we are certain of having a strong weight to keep the promotion and industrialization of our robots in the region. ”
The inhabitants of Occitanie want more than ever to give meaning to their purchases, their economic acts, and also their savings.
Carole Delga (PS), president of the Occitanie region.
Last year, during the pandemic, the French accumulated a savings surplus of more than 100 billion euros.
The Épargne Occitanie platform, which is housed in a project company with public and private capital, is a tool to mobilize dormant money on the accounts of the inhabitants of the region.
From 100 euros minimum, and without ceiling, individual investors in the region can invest in local companies preselected by an investment committee.
One holding company per project
Their investment can take two forms: either equity participation or bonds.
“The inhabitants of Occitanie want more than ever to give meaning to their purchases, their economic actions, and also their savings. This platform, of which the region is a shareholder, will help them invest in businesses and employment near them, ”
wants to believe Carole Delga (PS), president of the Occitanie region.
To prevent business leaders from having to manage too many small shareholders, each investor will not be directly present in the capital.
Wiseed will create, for each project, a holding company in which the shares subscribed by individuals will be housed.
Like a traditional capital increase, the finalization of this investment may be conditional on the entry, for a predefined amount, of other shareholders.
In addition, the length of time that the securities are held by individual investors and the conditions for withdrawing from the capital are specific to each operation.
Read also:
Investments: two ways to invest close to home
In total, 20 projects out of the 250 submitted by regional SMEs have already been validated by the services of the region, the CCI and Wiseed.
The others are still being studied and many of them will probably fail.
“Investment is based on trust in businesses in the area.
But this confidence must be based on rigor, in particular that of the investment committee
,
”
continues Nadia Pellefigue, vice-president of the regional council in charge of economic development.
Ambitious goal
Around ten fundraising projects are already presented on the platform.
In this context, companies also benefit from support from the region's economic services or from Ad'Occ, its economic development agency.
"A
supported
project has an 80% chance of success, when an unaccompanied project has a one in two chance of failing,"
says Nadia Pellefigue.
It displays this statistic as a pledge to investor savers.
The ambitious objective of Épargne Occitanie is for SMEs in the region to be able to mobilize 20 million euros in five years.
It could be quickly exceeded if savers respond present.
The first 250 candidate projects already represent a total funding requirement of 50 million euros.
Read also:
Regional funds to support SMEs and midcaps
It is not only a question of
"raising funds but also of creating a special bond between the investor and the company",
assures Carole Delga.
In its own way, Atelier Danton, an SME from Perpignan which designs and markets espadrilles made in France under the Payote brand, illustrates this state of mind.
Olivier Gelly, president and founder of this company created four years ago, says that the funding of 120,000 euros that he is requesting on Wiseed brings him closer to his customers.
This pledge which in his view justifies the annual yield of 5% over three years of the bonds offered to savers.
"The rates at the bank are lower, it's true, and I also need her,"
explains Olivier Gelly.
However, unlike a bank, the individual investor is also a potential client who will talk about his investment and his purchase around him.
It is a good vector of communication.
This operation gives me cheap publicity. ”
With the money collected, Olivier Gelly intends to finance the opening of a store in Toulouse and the acquisition of a warehouse truck.
In 2020, the company achieved a turnover of 1 million euros, in strong growth.
On the internet: epargneoccitanie.fr
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