Translations

ORANGE partners with La Ruche and social entrepreneurship

7. Community involvement

Social investment

Sector Telecommunication, Medias, ITC

Year 2016

Country France

Transmitter

Context

In pursuit of its corporate strategy aimed at accelerating the pace of open and collaborative innovation, Orange actively supports the development of future stars in the digital economy. In March 2014, with the conviction that new technologies were a lever for social innovation, the Group took an additional step in its open innovation drive by entering into association with La Ruche, a high-profile actor in France's social entrepreneurship movement.

Objectives

Share and make available Orange-based technologies to La Ruche entrepreneurs;
Facilitate spin-offs of the La Ruche model in other French regions and countries;
Sponsor new ideas and accompany them through to marketing.

APPROACH

Orange has partnered with La Ruche, a leading actor in the social entrepreneurship movement in France, in order to roll out into the French provinces the Parisian model that has proven successful since 2008. La Ruche, a veritable laboratory of social innovation, currently comprises some 100 social entrepreneurs seeking to create and develop innovative solutions to address modern society's problems. It is also a collaborative workspace created in Paris that has handled over 250 companies, with a success rate above 80%.

In relying on its extensive territorial network and the strength provided by a Group workforce of 102,000 spread throughout France, Orange accompanies La Ruche in achieving its regional development goals.

This approach takes several distinct forms: defrayal of installation costs, availability of technological resources critical to entrepreneurial projects, and the involvement and experience-sharing of Orange staff in coordinating the local La Ruche entities. With the arrival of new partners, opening La Ruche branches in many of France's large provincial cities has been planned within the next 5 years.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

Strong contribution from ICTs in launching new social and sustainable entrepreneurial models.

Benefits

Inclusion within an incubator considerably increases the chances of success for SMEs receiving support;
These incubator participants develop innovative solutions to society's problems.