No car, no job! How Adie supports the mobility of workers in financial difficulty

For 35 years, the Association for the Right to Economic Initiative (Adie) has been lending money to people who want to start a business but don't have access to traditional bank loans. Good to know: these microloans also cover mobility.

Isabelle is a home hairdresser in the northern region of France, in a rural area. Last year, after a stormy separation, she found herself without a car, as her husband had driven off with the shared vehicle. At the dealership, she found a used car that was good value for 10,000 euros, but her bank refused to lend her just over half the amount. Isabelle then turned to Adie (Association for the Right to Economic Initiative), which granted her a microloan of 3,000 euros, repayable over 5 years. By adding her savings, she was able to resume her work and travel after four very difficult months.

It is aimed at entrepreneurs, employees, and the unemployed who do not have access to traditional bank credit, but who have the ability to repay. The Adie's objective is to enable them to start their own business, stay employed, or find a new job, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas.

Last year, 7,500 employees and unemployed people received a mobility microcredit specifically from the association, for an average amount of 3,840 euros and up to a maximum of 6,000 euros. The problem with just this amount, explains the association's president, Frédéric Lavenir, is that "you have access to used cars that run, but of average or low quality, with a lot of mileage on the clock, and which are polluting."

"It's better than buying a €500 trash can online without a microcredit, but it's still not satisfactory."

Frédéric Lavenir, President of Adie

to franceinfo

The association is asking the government to review its purchase aid system, which is now focused solely on electric cars.

"The poorest 20 to 30% of French people cannot afford to buy electric or hybrid vehicles ," Frédéric Lavenir emphasizes, "even through leasing, with state and local government aid. It's beyond their reach; we need to help these people buy good quality second-hand combustion engine cars."

According to Adie, 1 in 4 workers have already missed a professional opportunity due to not being able to travel. "These precarious workers are trapped in a degraded vehicle fleet ," insists Frédéric Lavenir, "while the majority of them live in areas poorly served by public transport."