Financing your business start-up

Capital OS currently lists 360 open schemes related to starting a business: 31 available anywhere in France and 228 reserved for a specific area (region, department, group of municipalities or municipality). They fall into five categories, none of which replaces the others:

The bank finances the investments, but it expects a contribution and guarantees. The two public levers act on these two points. The honour loan increases the contribution: Initiative France presents it as an interest-free loan, with no guarantee required, which "boosts your personal contribution and your company's own funds," inseparable from ongoing support.

The guarantee reduces the risk taken by the bank. SIAGI, for example, indicates a coverage rate of 20% to 70% (depending on whether there is a co-guarantor) for loans of €5,000 to €4,000,000, for the benefit of businesses with fewer than 50 employees. These parameters are those of the offer at the time of verification and are confirmed by the bank when the loan is arranged.

The order matters: obtaining approval from an honour loan network before the bank meeting allows you to present an already consolidated financing plan.

ACRE is a temporary exemption from social security contributions at the start of activity, reserved for those who have not benefited from it in the previous three years. It is not automatic: the application must be made to the Urssaf within 60 days of starting the business, along with proof of the business's creation.

A jobseeker receiving benefits who starts a business chooses between two options, which cannot be combined. ARCE pays 60% of remaining ARE entitlements, after a 3% deduction for supplementary pensions: half at the start of the business, the balance six months later if the business continues and the founder does not hold a full-time CDI. It requires having obtained ACRE.

Continued ARE payments, on the other hand, allow a portion of the benefit to be received each month, calculated based on declared income. For entitlements opened since April 1, 2025, this combination is capped at 60% of the remaining benefit capital at the date the business is started, according to France Travail.

The ARCE lump sum is better suited to a project requiring an initial investment; continued ARE payments suit a business that starts up gradually. Unlike continued ARE payments, the ARCE option does not allow basic pension quarters to be credited.

Local authority grants are numerous but very targeted: a specific area, a type of activity (local retail, crafts), sometimes a specific group (young people, jobseekers, women founders). They take the form of bonuses, assistance with rent for the first few months, or interest-free loans run by a local platform.

They are often granted under the European de minimis regulation, which caps the total amount of aid received over three years: combining several local grants must therefore be checked. Use the "Local grants" filter in the catalog below, then the personalized report to keep only those available in your municipality.

Three conditions recur in most start-up schemes. Timing first: many grants must be applied for before or just after registration (60 days for ACRE), and are no longer accessible afterward. The founder next: honour loans and ACRE target the founder personally, which assumes they actually run the business. The project, finally: a financing plan and forecasts are requested by honour loan committees as well as by banks.