Sébastien Jamme (Master 2008) launch Enerfip !

EDHEC Alumni: Can you tell us briefly how Enerfip came about?
Sébastien Jamme  : Enerfip is a debt based crowdfunding website dedicated to the Energy Transition. On Enerfip.fr, citizens can invest from a minimum of 100 € to finance renewable energy projects. They receive interests for those loans comprised between 3% an 8% per annum (p.a.).
Enerfip was born through the gathering of both financial analysts and engineers, having all been professionally involved in the renewable energy business.
Enerfip answers two queries that we regularly faced in our respective jobs:
- Citizens are finally allowed to take part directly to the Energy Transition and to direct their savings in order to finance transparent and concrete projects. It is all the more important to them that they face current low interest rate context for their savings (the so-called “Livret A” yields currently 0.75% p.a)
- Project developers can access to a new source of financing, in addition to traditional funding possibilities.

What is your initial assessment of this entrepreneurial adventure?
SJ : We have just entered into the launch phase, but I can make a first assessment of the start phase. So far, we successfully developed:
- An identity and a registered brand, Enerfip, following an exciting brainstorming phase. Our mission now is to make it famous and recognized as a reputable crowdfunding entity
- An approved application certificate delivered by the French Financial Markets Authority (“AMF”). This task has required us to prove our credibility and competences to a reputable institution and to show our capacity to understand regulatory aspects
- An operational website, which required a lot of creativity, but also user experience thinking to offer both simplicity and practicality while respecting regulatory aspects
- An attractive and consistent business plan, supported by in-depth analysis of both the renewable energy and the crowdfunding markets, in order to be in position to make a first fund raising of several hundreds of thousands (euros).

Have you ever benefited from the network of EDHEC graduates?
SJ : Not yet…but i am relying on the EDHEC Alumni network to help me during this launch phase. It looks like it the suitable timing to do so .
It is in fact the biggest network of business school Alumni’s in France and we all know how critical the networking, the online sharing of information on social network and the viral marketing are in today’s communication
Renown, reputation and trust are the main concerns of our business today and I really need the Edhec network to have solid grounds of confidence and to make people spread the word about us
If people could first:
• Like our facebook, follow us on twitter and linkedin…
• Spread Parler du projet a tout journaliste papier / web/ radio / TV ou me donner son contact
• Make us known by word of mouth, by sharing the Enerfip concept with their colleagues at lunch, with their friends and their families…
Then, we need above all to extend our base of investors, so if potential EDHEC investors can register online (less than 10 minutes) and even better, subscribe to one of our project as an Enerfip lender, I would be glad !

What advice do you have for young entrepreneurs?
SJ : It seems a trivial advice, but definitely true: always believe in your project, provide yourself with the means of developing it and stay on course! Otherwise you will never convince your partners.
It does not mean that you should not listen to any extrenal advice, even when it is not pleasant.

What’s next for Enerfip?
SJ : The marketing and launch phase which we are currently initiating will be combined with a fund raising phase in order to ensure our growth (recruitment, mass audience advertising, etc…).
In the short run, we consider diversifying our offer by adding an equity product, where people could actually become shareholders of the project they are financing and not lenders (and get dividends instead of interests). We also think about enhancing the liquidity through the setting up of a sale and exchange of shares solution for our investors, giving them a potential exit facility (which is definitely required when you ask them to participate in projects with a maturity above 5 years).
In the medium term, we target internationalization and we want to become a reference player in the investment and financing sectors for peer-to-peer (we rely on a partnership with a major bank to achieve such goal).
As you can see, we do not lack ideas nor projects!

What are your expectations from the community of EDHEC graduates?
SJ : My main concern, for now, is to get trust from EDHEC Alumni’s in order to grow our investor community. If I can also attract some renewable energy project developers, I would also be glad. Finally, we are currently organizing a first round for fund raising...notice to any Business Angels of the network!

Contact
Website : https://enerfip.fr
Blog: http://enerfip.blogspot.fr
Enerfip on Facebook
Enerfip on Twitter
Enerfip on LinkedIn

Contact: info@enerfip.fr / sebastien@enerfip.fr