Edhec Solidarity Project of the month: Develop, a social business student association

Develop is an EDHEC association created in 2008, which was set up to promote Social Business. It now has 35 members representing 7 different nationalities on both the Lille and the Nice campuses. But just what is Social Business? Social Business is a business model that attempts to be profitable, in other words to cover its costs, while at the same time working towards social goals. In other words, as a company, it works along the same lines as a traditional business, but the main aim is not to make a huge profit.

Their activities
The ISEF: International Social Enterprise Forum
"Every year, we organise an International Social Enterprise Forum on the Nice campus. Our second Forum will be held this year on 12 April 2012, bringing together business organisations aware of their responsibility within the economy, social businesses, politicians and Grandes Ecoles student associations that share our commitment to social entrepreneurship."
The forum features conferences, round tables and workshops. There is also an ‘associations village’, facilitating meetings between the different participants, the companies and the NGOs present. Documentary films that deal with socially responsible business in one way or another will also be screened in the cinema space. Lastly, there will be a Quiz about social entrepreneurship for preparatory school students.

Following the progress of entrepreneurs with a microcredit from the ADIE
In the framework of the Créajeunes programme set up by the ADIE, the leading microcredit operator in France, Develop contacts entrepreneurs in the Lille and Nice areas from disadvantaged areas who have received a microcredit from the ADIE. "We provide them with support and advice about running a business one afternoon a month."

Initiatives to raise EDHEC students awareness
- ‘1 €uro Campaign’ in partnership with the site Babyloan.org, a social enterprise created by Aurélie Duthoit (2005), which won the EDHEC Socially Responsible Business of the Year prize in 2011.  Babyloan.org is an intermediary site that helps to lend money to micro-entrepreneurs who do not have enough capital to launch or develop their business venture.  Every year, Develop organises the ‘1 €uro campaign’. This year, the campaign will take place simultaneously on the Lille and Nice campuses. Develop selects 3 entrepreneurs and EDHEC students are invited to give 1 euro or more to help finance the entrepreneur of their choice. The money collected is given to these micro-entrepreneurs, and re-invested in other business ventures once it has been reimbursed. Over €800 was collected in 2011, helping to support 4 micro-entrepreneurs.
- ‘Rise up!’ the Social Business newspaper: 1500 copies of the paper were distributed on EDHEC’s Lille campus and 2000 copies on the Nice campus during the ISEF. It contains articles about their Social Business activities and about the ISEF guests.

Help them! Do you belong to a business that shares the same values as Develop?
Help them to help others by sponsoring their main event, the International Social Enterprise Forum (budget: €20,000).