Form of cooperative society, the activity and employment cooperative (CAE) pools administrative services and support for individual entrepreneurs who are its employees. It offers an original and effective model of professional integration or retraining for many people., women wanting to return to a particular activity. Thus the Réunion CAE Possible, born in Saint-Pierre, today brings together nearly three hundred members. Responding to increasing numbers of requests, it begins to shine throughout the island.
Multi-activity CAE, Possible is not specialized in a particular sector of activity. It covers a wide range of professions (various businesses, hygiene services, beauty, well-being, training, digital maintenance, construction craftsmen, etc.), with the exception of regulated activities, agriculture and real estate. To its salaried entrepreneurs, Possible provides accounting accommodation, legal and administrative : all back office. On the other hand, its network of experts advises and supports them in the implementation of their professional project. The great advantage of this formula, it is also aimed at job seekers, who continue to receive their unemployment benefits, to recipients of social assistance, who continue to benefit from this aid, to employees on fixed-term or permanent contracts, in compliance with their contract, as well as business leaders wishing to change legal environment and people undergoing professional retraining. Joining a CAE avoids throwing yourself into the unknown. “It is reassuring to be able to embark on a project while maintaining a safety net in the event of failure and to feel supported. Our company has a special status : it has a SIRET number for several entrepreneurs. It pools services and skills which allow the entrepreneur to concentrate on his activity”, explains Alice Grondin, Managing Director of Possible. The salaried entrepreneur benefits from the advantages of employment : pay slip and associated social rights. Services are invoiced by Possible, who is responsible for recovering money from customers. The CAE takes 13% of gross margins for its operations. To this collective contribution is added a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).
A journey in several stages
Support takes the form of monitoring, exchanges of experience and training where knowledge is lacking. “The salaried entrepreneur benefits from supervision and support to help him succeed in his project. Several referents follow him. He evolves with the team in place and with other entrepreneurs. Collective workshops and meetings stimulate cooperation to exchange experiences, or even encourage working together. » This original approach to entrepreneurship belongs to the social and solidarity economy. Activity and employment cooperatives have existed for around ten years (they were created by a law of 2014). They complemented the older system of “business incubators” which implement the business project support contract (CAPE). Born in 2015, Possible was originally a business incubator. She evolved into CAE in 2019. Lasting 36 months, the CAPE allows a person receiving minimum social benefits to retain the benefit while testing their project. During the CAPE, the person is not yet employed. She gets paid from her services, but its costs are reimbursed, a helping hand to help build up a cash reserve. Furthermore, she is supported in her management. Generally, it takes twelve to eighteen months to test the viability of an activity. “The objective of CAPE is to give the activity time to become profitable. If the person wishes, she can take the next step and become a CAE employee entrepreneur”, comments Alice Grondin. Finally, third step, after three years, the salaried entrepreneur has the obligation to become a member of the CAE, otherwise he must continue his activity outside the cooperative under a liberal status.
Growing influence
Fin 2023, Possible employed 299 entrepreneurs and especially women entrepreneurs. There is indeed a high proportion of women there., including stay-at-home mothers seeking to return to professional activity in this way to ensure their independence. There are two other general CAEs in Reunion, Coop Union et Smile, and a CAE specializing in construction, BAT’EXP. Born in the South, Possible concentrates the majority of its salaried entrepreneurs there, but it is gradually developing in other regions of the island. Last year, the West represented 16% of its members and the North, 10 %. It has a fixed office in Saint-Denis and an occasional office in the West. It is now in the East that Possible wishes to establish itself. As part of a partnership with Saint-André, it accentuates its integration mission. In June, a series of meetings began with those furthest from employment in the neighborhoods. For these audiences, Possible set up the first integration company through independent work (GO) Of the reunion. This new structure of integration, l'GO, was born last year. It is in an experimental phase until 2026.
