Our approach

The way we see the world

The stakes

Today, there are over 300 million women entrepreneurs in the world. Unfortunately, as this number continues to grow, entrepreneurship remains a highly unequal and fragmented economic sector. Deep-rooted gender inequalities in our societies have a negative impact on the lives of women entrepreneurs, restricting their access to education and information as well as to economic resources and opportunities, and further developing their persistent self-censorship mechanisms. As a result, these inequalities prevent women from reaching their full potential as entrepreneurs, and create even more obstacles to the development of their businesses.

33%

Have started their business out of necessity

40%

Failed within the first 2 years

60%

Never been to school

66%

Do not feel capable of becoming an entrepreneur

Our commitments

We develop our services and actions on the basis of founding principles that guide our day-to-day actions and our long-term vision.

Wherever we operate, we don’t see ONE female entrepreneur, but MANY women entrepreneurs. Women who embody a diversity of entrepreneurial experiences and who have had to deal differently with the obstacles and barriers they encounter along the way. Our approach has always been to think in terms of all women entrepreneurs, whatever their background, origin, motivations or sector of activity, and not just a select few. It’s with this in mind that we take care in our actions not to standardize their needs, but on the contrary, to offer multiple accompaniments in terms of content, format, duration, level of commitment and location.

Empowerment is THE founding principle of our organization. The programs we offer are not “just” entrepreneurship training sessions. Our support services are systematically designed to empower women and give them access to the spaces and resources they need to carry out their own projects and take charge of their own lives. We therefore place as much emphasis on the development of entrepreneurial know-how as we do on the development of interpersonal skills, and also work in parallel to create favorable environments and better access to land and financial resources.

Accompanying and supporting women entrepreneurs is and will remain our core mission. But because the patriarchal system is precisely systemic, raising awareness among the rest of the players in this ecosystem has become a sine qua non condition for ensuring the transformation of the sector as a whole. For it was never a question of asking women to adapt to a dominant and exclusive system, but rather of rethinking the contours and functioning of our economic system by, with and for them. That’s why, through our support programs, we are committed to not confining women (or men!) to certain sectors or professions, or imposing a dominant entrepreneurial culture that discourages many women from embarking on this adventure. We also run parallel awareness-raising campaigns to change the way women are portrayed in the ecosystem, propose a new narrative and enable all stakeholders to develop a more inclusive entrepreneurial culture.

We believe that gender inequality is such that it requires the commitment of the whole of society. We also believe that mutual aid and collective action are resolutely feminist modes of action This is why we value collective and community dynamics, and why we let’s involve a diversity of players in our actions mentors, coaches, investment funds, support structures, entrepreneurial networks, institutions, the private sector… In this same perspective, we also provide solutions to organizations wishing to commit to women’s empowerment, helping them to become levers for greater equality.

From the outset, we have continuously assessed the impact of our programs by collecting targeted data in the field. We carry out this work with a view to learning and taking action, in order to better understand women’s socio-economic profile needs and improve our services. We report on our programs and communicate these results through our annual reports and other thematic publications.

The power of women

For decades, women have not only made history, they’ve written it. They fought for their rights, they showed courage and strength to make their voices heard, they united so that their daughters would never again suffer the same discrimination. Throughout the world, women have played a central role in enabling our societies to progress.

If we have chosen to call ourselves Empow’Her, it’s because we are convinced that change will come from women themselves, from their power to recognize themselves as the agents of their own transformation and that of their communities. Our name is a reminder of this intrinsic strength, this ‘power’ in which we believe deeply and which is reflected in the rest of the values that guide our daily actions: sisterhood (the power to act together), audacity (the power to dream), autonomy (the power to decide for oneself) and of course equality (the power to share).

The power of women

These women give us a glimpse of a society in which
each of us can be the protagonists of our own future, can dream and
dreams, can dispose of his body, can take action, can
inspire and be a role model, can succeed, can oppose, can
be represented, can be seen.

Courage, desire and determination are not what
to make their voices heard.
“Empowerment begins by no longer considering the
women only through the prism of inequality
that they suffer, but by recognizing the capacity
tha they have to change the established order.
According to Vandana Shiva, to whom we owe this year’s slogan
campaign, it is the “power of ordinary women” that is
the most powerful source of transformation.

Like her, we are therefore committed to promoting our
individual and collective successes, to talk about our struggles
present and future, and to promote a society in which
women, all women, could realize their full potential.
and seize the power that belongs to them.
Because we are all powerful.

Portraits of women

Valérie Fetiveau, Facility Services Littoral

Facility Services Littoral consiste à accompagner, coordonner le soutien à domicile d’une population fragile (personnes âgées, personnes en situation de handicap...). Le but est de favoriser le lien social, les échanges et de lutter contre l’isolement tant des professionnels que des bénéficiaires.

Nathalie Moysan, Mama Bears

Mama Bears est la future plateforme numérique à destination des mamans solos pour les aider à sortir de l’isolement grâce à un système de géolocalisation et leur permettre d’avoir accès à des services qui leur facilitent le quotidien.

Salomé Dratwa, WWoW

WWoW propose des produits de maroquinerie végétale et des bijoux, designés et fabriqués à Paris avec amour et solidarité, pour embellir la vie et la planète.

Emilie Renault, Les Fées Récup

Les Fées Récup est un Fablab qui propose des services pour faciliter la vente des objets transformés par les artistes et artisans de Seine Aval qui travaillent dans le domaine de la décoration d’intérieur.

Stéphanie Cante, Bocage numérique

Bocage numérique c’est un lieu unique où l’on peut bricoler, travailler et partager au coeur du bocage bourbonnais.

Noémie Potdevin, I LIKE IT NAKED

I LIKE IT NAKED est un beauty store sans plastique, qui sélectionne des produits de beauté nus, sains et cools pour ta salle de bain !

Eloïse Moigno, SloWeAre

SloWeAre est la plateforme d’information de référence pour s’informer sur la mode responsable. Elle accompagne chacun dans sa transition vestimentaire vers un dressing plus durable.

Marie Bellenger, Rhizcom

Agence de communication responsable, qui garantit une cohérence entre les valeurs et la manière de les diffuser pour faire rayonner les démarches positives !

Chloé Chevalier, les Jeannettes

A Morlaix, Les Jeannettes tiennent une épicerie de produits essentiellement locaux et exclusivement sans emballage et proposent des ateliers pour apprendre à mieux consommer et réduire ses déchets !

Aurélie Deroo, Cocott’arium

L'idée du Cocott'arium est d'intégrer les poulaillers en ville, mais également les poules dans nos modes de vie ! Des poulaillers urbains pour recycler, éduquer et partager !

Camille Vauvrecy, Louli des bois

Louli des bois, c’est une boutique de puériculture naturelle et de jouets en bois à Brest. C’est également un site e-commerce et une marque de couches lavables fabriqués en ESAT en Bretagne.

Julie Ricard, Autour du feu

Autour du Feu est une Forest School, c'est-à-dire une structure qui propose des ateliers et expériences en nature à différents publics fondés sur la Pédagogie par la Nature.