Would be entrepreneurs registered with the unemployment agency, can benefit from the EPCRE, EDEN and ACCRE. The Etude Préalable à la Création ou Reprise d’Entreprise (EPCRE) enables you to get free help from a professional business adviser to validate your business idea. The ANPE will ask your local Boutique de Gestion to guide you through the EPCRE with a maximum of 6 one-to-one meetings. Thus enabling you to cover the most appropriate structure for your business, review your market, create a provisional plan and check for any potential financial help.
If you haven’t worked in France, you won’t be getting any benefits from the ANPE, but provided you have been registered for 6 months, you could benefit from a social charges exoneration – ACCRE, for the first year. This could also apply to you if you receive the Revenu Minimum de Reinsertion (RMI) or the Allocation Parent Isolé (API, single parent allowance). This exoneration can partially be renewed in your second year, provided your turnover remains within the limit of the micro enterprise (27,000€ for services and 76,400€ for trade).
If you are unemployed below 30 years old, over 50 years old or receiving the minimum revenue of reinsertion (RMI) or single parent allowance (API), you can also apply for the EDEN – Encouragement au Développement des Entreprises Nouvelles. This scheme offers an interest free loan of up to 6,000€ reimbursable over 3 to 5 years. Forms for the taxe exoneration and reimbursable loan have to be completed and returned when registering your business.
Would be entrepreneurs qualifying for ACCRE or EDEN can also apply for the Chéquiers Conseil. These pre-financed cheques from the Direction Départementale du Travail et de la Formation Professionnelle (DDTEFP) can be used to pay for professional advice on starting your business (accountants, Boutique de Gestion, etc). A cheque book with six cheques worth 45€ each will be issued to you before starting your business, two extra cheque books will be issued after the registration.
Two extra schemes worth pursuing are the Prêt Création Entreprise – PCE and the Fond de Garantie à l’Initiatitve des Femmes – FGIF. Both aim to provide a guarantee on your main business loan.
The PCE or new business loan from OSEO vary from 2,000€ to 7,000€ and generates a guarantee of 70% on your main business loan, provided the overall investment is below 45,000€. Similarly the FGIF provides female entrepreneurs with a guarantee of 70% on their business loan (maximum guaranteed 27,000€).