Financing your project in Loire-Atlantique: business creation, agriculture and short supply chains

Introduction

In Loire-Atlantique, departmental action combines support for business creation, help with recruitment, support for certain local projects, and agricultural and food policies. Individual financial grants are targeted: many agricultural or economic schemes take the form of calls for projects, partnerships or regional co-financing.

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for businesses, farms, founders, buyers and local economy organisations established in the département. Criteria vary according to legal status, sector, location, size, expenses, timeline and co-financing.

Understanding who funds what

Distinguish grants directly carried by the Département from schemes co-financed with the Region or the State, national programmes accessible locally, and loans or support provided by partners. Being located in the territory does not automatically turn a regional, national or private grant into a departmental one.

Direct departmental grants

The Département publishes grants and services by audience and by theme. A distinction must be made between subsidies paid to a partner organisation and grants a business can apply for directly. For business creation, support may be mainly methodological and relational rather than a general grant.

Agricultural and rural grants

The Departmental Agricultural and Food Project includes, in particular, support for struggling farms, short supply chains and the reclamation of agricultural land. The 2026 agreement with the Chambre d'agriculture funds prevention and support actions. Businesses must check the dedicated calls for projects and the rules for combining aid with regional grants.

Business creation, employment and local development

Founders can approach the Sup'Porteurs de la création network and Loire-Atlantique Développement, particularly for tourism, energy transition, digital or ecological projects. The departmental employment and integration units (unités départementales insertion-emploi) can support recruitment and provide information on available employment schemes.

Complementary funding

For productive investments, also check grants from the Région Pays de la Loire, FEADER schemes and EPCIs (inter-municipal bodies). The Département may contribute to partnership programmes without being the direct funding window for every business.

How to prepare your application

Prepare the project description, financing plan, quotes, recent accounts, proof of status and declarations of public aid already received. Do not commit to expenses before checking the scheme's rules.

Checking the status of the grant

An information page, a partnership agreement or a budget announcement does not guarantee that an individual funding window is open. Check the regulations, the dates, the reviewing authority and the application form.

Combining aid and aid scheme

Rules on combining aid depend on the scheme, the European State aid regime and whether the same expenses are involved. Declare any aid already received and check the applicable de minimis rules or caps.

Points of caution

Do not confuse a grant, a repayable advance, a loan, support services, public procurement and funding awarded to a partner organisation. Closed campaigns are kept for historical reference and monitoring purposes, but must not be shown as open.

Schemes identified in this batch

The associated tracking tab presents five schemes or leads drawn from institutional sources. Entries without a matched unique official identifier are research leads and do not yet constitute validated grant records.

Qualification note

Editorial summary based on institutional sources; it does not constitute an eligibility decision or a guarantee of obtaining aid.

Official sources

Written content, currently under editorial review — this is not an eligibility assessment; only your personalised report applies your company's actual criteria.