White Box is taking a delegation of Australian social enterprise leaders and philanthropists to France from 3-8 May to examine how policy, funding and procurement can better support jobs-focused social enterprises and disability enterprises.
The six-day discovery tour will provide rare, behind-the-scenes access to France's Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) sector – a €2 billion ecosystem that employs 2.4 million people and represents 10% of the country's total workforce.
"There is so much we can learn from the French model. It demonstrates what's possible when the right policy settings exist for social enterprise to thrive," said Nico Deloux, White Box’s Head of Partnerships and curator of the tour program.
Over six intensive days, the delegation of experienced social enterprise leaders and philanthropists will meet with senior government officials including Thibault Guilluy, Director General of France Travail (National Employment Services), Maxime Baduel, Ministerial Delegate for Social Economy, and representatives from and representatives from la Federation des Entreprises d'Insertion, the national jobs-focused social enterprises peak body.
They will visit leading social enterprises including Groupe SOS, one of Europe's largest social enterprise groups with 750+ entities and 22,000 employees generating €2bn in annual turnover, and La Varappe, a major work integration group employing 12,000 people across environment, eco-construction and health sectors.
“Through successive legislation, in particular the 2024 ESS law, the French government has created a framework that activates key levers for social enterprises to sustainably operate at scale. This includes funding for impact costs, mandatory procurement targets for disability employment, flexible finance options and a national certification model."
"Our goal is to get under the hood and better understand this holistic approach, to better inform our advocacy here in Australia.”
The tour will also examine innovative models such as ESS 2024, the social procurement program that embedded inclusive employment into the Paris Olympics, and solidarity-based property models like Foncière Bellevilles and Plateau Urbain that activate buildings for social impact.
While visits to disability enterprises numerik-ea and ESAT Bastille will provide insights into inclusive employment at scale, with France's adapted and supported enterprises currently employing over 170,000 people with disability.
The French context offers compelling benchmarks for Australia: 165,000 organisations operate under ESS principles, with 142,900 people employed in work integration pathways. Activities-based funding is embedded across the system, with €1.3bn allocated in 2026.
"What's most compelling about the French approach is the scale. This isn't a piecemeal approach - it's a mature, integrated system reaching hundreds of thousands of people.”
Zara, an employee of Resilience, a social enterprise in France.
A core employment program in France is known has Aide-au-Poste. Social enterprises receive direct funding from the government to support people with complex barriers back into work. White Box first learned about this program in an earlier visit to France in 2025, this was the impetus for further investigation into the French employment system.
"With Workforce Australia reform underway, now is the time to be looking at best practice internationally and applying what we can to our own systems. We’re looking forward to bringing back our learnings and sharing these with government and our sector peers.”
The delegation includes experienced social enterprise leaders, philanthropists and advocates committed to transforming how Australia supports inclusive employment, with representatives from Ian Potter Foundation, Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation, Kennard’s Foundation, English Family Foundation, STREAT, Stepping Stone, Bloomcycle, TDM Growth, Social Enterprise World Forum, and Social Procurement Australasia.
We’ll be following the tour closely and sharing learnings more broadly. For regular updates, follow White Box on LinkedIn and subscribe to our newsletter.