French co-living platform Colette has raised €3m ($3.4m) in a funding round led by Mutuelles Impact, Founders Future and Evolem. The company, founded in 2020 by Alexandre Gosset, David Jeusette and Justine Renaudet, matches students with seniors who have a spare room in their home or apartment. The platform helps students find affordable accommodation while also offering companionship to older people, thus avoiding loneliness and isolation. The company's goal is to reinvent intergenerational cohabitation around the values of mutual aid, sharing and solidarity.
Colette is seen as an alternative to traditional renting and is aimed at combating loneliness and precarity. The company offers an innovative solution to the growing problem of housing insecurity and social isolation among older people. Colette sees itself as a solution to the housing crisis, which is particularly acute in major cities. The platform has been successful in France, and this funding round will allow it to expand internationally.
The lead investor, Mutuelles Impact, is a social impact fund that invests in companies with a positive social or environmental impact. Founders Future is a venture capital fund that invests in early-stage startups, and Evolem is a private equity firm that invests in small and medium-sized businesses. The fact that these three firms have invested in Colette suggests that the company is seen as a promising startup with significant potential for growth.
Colette's success is due in part to the growing popularity of the sharing economy and the desire for more sustainable and community-focused ways of living. The company's innovative approach to co-living has attracted attention from investors and the media alike, and it is likely that we will see more companies like Colette emerge in the coming years as the sharing economy continues to grow.
