11 new projects selected to join Le Phare, the CMA CGM Foundation’s social incubator

The CMA CGM Foundation has made education for all its priority. With its incubator Le Phare, it has extended its efforts to encourage the creation of businesses with a social purpose in the field of education and solidarity.

On the back of its initial success, which allowed for the development and support of seven local entrepreneurial projects, Le Phare is continuing to pursue its ambitions by taking on a second cohort of entrepreneurs.

This year, Le Phare is working actively on opening up its program to leading names in entrepreneurial projects to help others, taking on an even more innovative group with an even greater impact on the educational and solidarity issues of the future.

For this second cohort, 30 proposals were received and 16 applicants have been selected to pitch their projects in front of a jury consisting of leading figures in the social economy, CMA CGM Group employees and members of the CMA CGM Foundation.

Seven entrepreneurs working on projects in the Marseille region will move into Le Phare in September 2023. The hub is located within L’Épopée, the educational innovation village that is home to several dozen social economy operators, in the heart of the northern districts of Marseille. They will be able to benefit from a unique experience, tailor-made support and permanent contact with the region’s non-profits and entrepreneurs.

A further three projects in Guadeloupe and Martinique will add to this second cohort, to be announced in the next few days. They will join ZEBOX Caribbean, CMA CGM’s innovative start-up accelerator and incubator, which opens its doors this summer.

They all offer innovative entrepreneurial projects in the field of education and humanitarian action. These projects offer primarily digital solutions to combat young people dropping out of school and help vulnerable people enter the world of work.

• À l’Unisson pour le futur – A l’Unisson pour le futur was created in 2021 to foster a link between young people in Marseille and civic engagement channels. Initiated by young people aged 15 to 22, it allowed for the creation of the 1st Municipal Council of Young People of Marseille and aims to offer solutions for young people while also giving them the opportunity to learn about the codes of civic life.
• Live Love – Created in Lebanon and looking to set up in Marseille, this charity endeavors to encourage civic engagement among young people so that they develop positive initiatives to address social issues. It also helps engaged young people to enter the world of work, in particular by means of a platform that gives them access to training to develop new skills.
• Mayoo – Faced with changing food habits among young people, the Mayoo web application, targeted at schools, aims to involve students in managing their school canteens, from creating menus to returning plates after their meal. It will measure canteens’ daily waste in order to raise awareness about better food habits and combating wastage.
• Meet My Mama – Meet My Mama is a delicatessen and training school that aims to give moms all over the world the power to apply their passion for cooking by means of a support program to help them find work in the catering industry. On the back of its success in Paris, Meet MyMama is now developing its presence in Marseille.
• Nanaba – Working in the field of education, Nanaba supports quality screen time for children by means of a parent control system that includes revision time in their favorite apps. Nanaba is attempting to re-establish balance within the family and encourage school success, while also controlling access to certain multimedia content.
• Phoenix Education – Phoenix Education has created MeetYourSchool, the first virtual event platform dedicated to school and professional orientation. This digital solution makes it easier for all young people to access high-quality information, regardless of where they come from, to help them to make the best choices for the future, for example by having access to digital student fairs.
• Solidarités International – Internationally active NGO Solidarités International aims to meet the essential needs of people in vulnerable situations, particularly in terms of access to water and sanitation. It is also developing initiatives in France, in particular in Marseille, to improve the living conditions of families in the most challenging informal housing.

The selected entrepreneurs will be invited to work for five days per week in Le Phare’s coworking space, and will receive 150 hours of mentoring free of charge over a nine-month period. Most of this support will be provided by CMA CGM Group staff members. As part of the Group’s skills mentoring program, they will provide their skills in the various areas of entrepreneurship such as project management, marketing, communications, accounting and legal. This direct approach will allow future entrepreneurs to learn from the experience of industry professionals and absorb their business logic.

Tanya Saadé Zeenny, Chair of the CMA CGM Foundation, comments: “11 new entrepreneurs have been selected today by a panel of leading figures from the social and solidarity-based economy. They will make up the second cohort at Le Phare, the CMA CGM Foundation’s social incubator at L’Épopée, the educational innovation village located in the heart of the northern districts of Marseille. These entrepreneurs present projects with a significant social impact. That is the very raison d’être of Le Phare: supporting the creation of businesses with a social purpose in the field of education and solidarity in the region. A further four entrepreneurs will be selected in Martinique and Guadeloupe, a region with which the Group has longstanding connections.”