Problem addressed

The youth unemployment rate in France (15-24 years) reached 18% by the end of 2025, well above the average unemployment rate (7.7%), and is even higher for non-graduates (41% of young people who left initial training 1 to 4 years ago).

Support measures exist, notably from Employment Service actors, but they fail to adequately address the insertion challenges faced by low- or unskilled youth, leading to precariousness, marginalization, mental and physical health deterioration, weakened social cohesion, and increased public spending.
In the meantime, many young people, but also jobseekers of all ages, are interested in entrepreneurship. But they don't dare express it to the organisations supporting their social and professional inclusion, nor to entrepreneurial support organisations, due to :
- Lack of self-confidence, doubts about their project
- Lack among the employment service providers of the tools to support entrepreneurial aspiration and turn it into a driver for guidance, skills development, and sustainable access to employment or training.

Without this initial stage of idea emergence, it is often observed that:
- People give up on their projects without ever assessing their feasibility (31% of French people have already thought about entrepreneurship without taking the step).
- Or they start a business without any support, which increases their vulnerability (86% of supported businesses are still operating after 3 years, compared with 60% on average nationwide).

Innovative solution

The "Groupement de Createurs" Network project uniquely addresses a key gap : supporting the emergence of entrepreneurial aspirations among people distant from the labour market. It transforms this desire into a powerful lever for inclusion—one overlooked by others.
Employment inclusion actors focus on salaried jobs or training, while entrepreneurial support organisations target mature projects suited for business creation, skipping the upstream emergence phase.
This proven approach boosts integration for hard-to-employ groups—mostly women and low-skilled youth—leveraging local stakeholders like the "Missions Locales" within the public employment network.

Key results and benefits

Since the launch of the first "Groupement de Createurs" in 2000, the Groupements de Createurs have supported nearly 25,000 people distant from employment.

In 2025, 2,600 people have been supported by the 53 "Groupements de Createurs" in activity in France:
- Mainly young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs, 85%) and Active Solidarity Income (RSA) beneficiaries (9%)
- Mostly low-skilled (70% with a secondary school diploma level (Baccalaureate) or less)
- 29% in priority urban neighbourhoods (QPV, 20%) or rural revitalisation zones (ZRR, 9%)
- 59% women.

One year later, 57% achieved positive outcomes:
- 16% launched businesses (often micro-entreprises)
- 31% gained stable jobs (permanent contract CDI ou temporary contract CDD ≥6 months) for experience, capital, or emergence-driven projects
- 10% pursued qualifying/certifying/diploma training for creation or new careers.
- Others (43%) advanced to startup support, short-term contracts, or refined job searches.

A J-PAL (Esther Duflo) randomized evaluation (Randomized Controlled Trial -RCT) ) of young jobseekers supported by the "Groupements de Createurs" confirmed beneficiaries:
- Entered training more frequently within one year
- Secured salaried jobs more often within two years
- Earned higher activity income with less welfare reliance.

Notably, two years on, they were slightly less self-employed than controls—reflecting realistic project assessment over premature launches.
For more details : https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/groupements-de-createurs-en…
This entrepreneurial desire support thus validates a powerful lever for insertion policies, cutting unemployment and welfare dependency without fostering precarious ventures.

Potential for mainstreaming

Since its 2000 launch, the "Groupement de Createurs" network has grown from 1 pilot to 53 sites across 33 departments (mainland and overseas), with the support of public programs (La France s’engage, French Ministry of Employment, Bpifrance, ESF+) and private funds (EDF, SNCF).

Key milestones include label development (2010-19) and acceleration via the “Inclusion through Self-Employment” program (2020-26), scaling annual support from 1,500 to 2,600 people while integrating innovations like digital tools and Open Badges under the PIC 100% Inclusion pilot.

Operating within Employment Service actors (Missions Locales, Maisons de l'Emploi, PLIE), the network now targets full coverage of France’s 101 departments to address national insertion challenges and better link employment, training, and entrepreneurship.

This national mainstreaming goal implies however :
- Extend national co-funding 
- Official recognition in national public policies ("Missions Locales", France Travail, RSA, PLIE).

Since its 2000 launch in the departement of Seine-et-Marne in the Ile-de-France region, the "Groupement de Createurs" network has grown from 1 pilot to 53 sites across 33 departments in 13 regions including overseas : Ile-de-France, Normandie, Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France, Occitanie, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Pays de La Loire, Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane and La Réunion.