Tenacious companies, from micro-businesses to startups

“My lack of success and self-confidence did not stop me from earning a PhD and creating my company. It just shows that there are many possible paths,” says Bénédicte Laurent, director of the Montpellier company Namae Concept, creator of software solutions for naming (i.e. creating brand names and companies) that she founded in 2010.

One year ago, she signed the Companies and Neighborhoods Charter, steered jointly by the French government and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, to make a commitment to promote jobs for residents in priority neighborhoods and fight against discrimination.

That led Bénédicte Laurent to participate in an afterwork event on feminine entrepreneurship, which brought together 200 people on October 29. Adie, an association that funds and assists company creators who do not have access to traditional bank credit mechanisms, organized the event in an amphitheater at Montpellier Business School, a school that promotes diversity and equal opportunity. The school also signed the Companies and Neighborhoods Charter, along with other participants in the afterwork event, such as AG2R La Mondiale and BNP Paribas, which both support numerous initiatives to promote inclusion.