ADIE (Association Pour Le Droit A L'Initiative Economique) originated from a combination of business advice and adapted financing. It supports and advises micro-entrepreneurs in respect of all their administrative and commercial formalities. Maria Nowak, President of ADIE, stated that the "aim (of ADIE) is to give everyone the right to economic initiative by opening access to capital and providing the technical support needed. Solidarity credit can transform excluded people into creators of wealth. Trust rebuilds the social link." After verifying the project feasibility and with the agreement of a credit committee, ADIE can grant up to 30,000 FF maximum. Successive loans can be granted until the borrower is integrated in the traditional banking sector. In some cases, start-up grants, equipment leasing or semi-equity loans can complete the financing.

Regular monitoring is established for at least two years and carried out in the work place. Borrowers can meet in "Micro entrepreneurs circles" that encourage exchanges of experience and provide complementary training by voluntary experts. The projects of unemployed people who created their business, were able to do so with the help of the solidarity network built around them, and for which ADIE was the catalyst.

ADIE started giving credit from its own funds, which were very limited. Today, a growing part of the loan is granted in partnership with banks. In this partnership, the bank pays out loans and ensures their computerized management, but ADIE is responsible for social and financial intermediation. Borrowers pay a solidarity fee equivalent to 2 - 3% of the loan amount. Partner banks take in 25% to 30% of the risk. ADIE collaborates with all local social aid and enterprise support networks.

Micro-enterprise creation and the development of self-employment are one of the European Commission priorities. Today ADIE's network covers 20 regions and 80 departments. It is growing rapidly and will expand to the whole metropolitan territory and to some of the overseas departments within this year.

	South-North Transfer Inspired by the experience of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, micro-credit has developed in Asia, Latin America, Africa, but also in industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada and Central and Eastern Europe. Financial sustainability, which is the aim of most micro-credit programs, cannot be reached in France in the current institutional framework. Indeed, technical support costs are particularly high. Furthermore, in the partnership with banks only they receive interests. The aim of the association is to ensure the social and economic return, which means a job creation cost lower than one fourth of the annual cost of an unemployed. Micro-enterprise creation and the development of self-employment are one of the European Commission priorities. In order to support public and private organizations wishing to set up micro-credit programs in their countries, ADIE created in 2000 an international unit called ADIE International. It offers technical assistance, during the identification, start-up phases and first years of activity of various programs. ADIE International is now working in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. It is also implementing a member based micro-finance scheme in Kosovo. ADIE International aims at developing an international micro finance operators network, encouraging exchanges of best practices between professionals and creating a think bank of proposals to encourage self-employment development in Western Europe Source: ADIE International: Solidarity Credit - Promoting Self-Employment