Venture capital for growing businesses in the 'centre' region of France

For many years, Centre Capital Développement (CCD) has been providing venture capital to businesses in the Centre region. More than a hundred or so companies have been helped and developed in this region as a result of financial support when they started, or needed aid for development, or if they relocated, or if they met difficulties. The success of these operations have encouraged closer collaboration between regions, and given rise to a capital investment centre which manages 100 million Euros. Catherine Kraft Le Marec, chairman of the CCD board of directors, talks about this experience and describes a savoir-faire characterised by methodological rigour, satisfactory relationships, and an ability to make decisions. In a climate of anxiety about risk-taking, as well as the seemingly unreal power of money and an unpredictable future, geographical proximity between regions and closeness of human contact have been a mainstay for investors as well as for business managers.