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EEPA 2025 Prize Highlights How ADIE Turns Informal Businesses into Local Economic Drivers
Through Make It Legit, ADIE turns survival-driven informal activity into measurable community-wide economic benefits and social inclusion.
What if thousands of entrepreneurs remained invisible, without rights, recognition, or access to the formal economy? This is the challenge ADIE’s Make It Legit addresses.
At the European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2025 (EEPA 2025), ADIE received first prize in Category 6, Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship, for a programme that transforms informal economic activity into opportunity, inclusion, and sustainable growth.
The Responsible and Inclusive Entrepreneurship category of the EEPA recognises initiatives that promote social responsibility and entrepreneurship among disadvantaged groups — a mission at the core of ADIE’s Make It Legit programme.
Make It Legit is a remarkable example of how everyday entrepreneurship can drive social impact, economic inclusion, and equality.
The award was received on behalf of ADIE by Clara Myard, Head of Public Partnerships, and Lucien Barbier, who highlighted the programme’s human and economic impact.
The jury described Make It Legit as “a successful living lab where employment, social inclusion, and ecological transition work in synergy,” highlighting its ability to turn an invisible challenge into measurable, community-wide benefits.
ADIE framed the recognition as a validation of its approach to popular, everyday entrepreneurship, promoting initiatives that advance local development and inclusion while providing tangible economic opportunity for those often overlooked by traditional support systems.
STORY CONTEXT | Shedding Light on Invisible Entrepreneurs
Informal entrepreneurship is often misunderstood. In France, nearly 9.8% of employment operates outside the formal economy, including one-third of independent workers. Across the European Union, informal activity represents roughly 18% of GDP.
Far from being fraudulent, these activities are survival strategies — ways for individuals to earn a living while providing essential services: home hairdressing, tailoring, mechanics, deliveries, catering, domestic work, recycling, and childcare — all conducted outside formal legal frameworks.
The people behind these activities include women, young people, low-qualified workers, migrants, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, recipients of minimum social benefits, and residents of disadvantaged urban or rural areas.
ADIE frames formalisation not simply as compliance but as a lever for empowerment, personal agency, and local development — helping individuals gain rights, recognition, and sustainable opportunity.
“Through Make It Legit, we support people in the informal economy — not illegal, just invisible,” programme leaders emphasise. “This project is about helping everyday entrepreneurs, and we are very happy that it could be highlighted tonight.”
FACT BOX | What is “Make It Legit”?
Launched in 2020 under the Plan d’Investissement dans les Compétences (PIC), initially in pilot territories across France, Make It Legit tested innovative methods to support informal entrepreneurs before expanding nationwide.
Its goal is to transform small, unregistered activities — particularly in crafts and service sectors — into formally recognised businesses, providing legal status, social protection, access to finance, and long-term recognition.
Formalisation is approached not as a bureaucratic obligation but as a strategic lever for empowerment, social inclusion, ecological transition, and local development, turning an invisible challenge into a collective, community-wide benefit.
METHODOLOGY | Identification, Support, Formalisation
Make It Legit follows a structured three-step methodology:
- Identification — Over 500 local presence points and an extensive partner network locate informal entrepreneurs who are invisible to conventional support systems. About 65% operate from home, and 9.5% online.
- Tailored Support — Entrepreneurs receive progressive, non-stigmatising guidance: administrative assistance, coaching, microcredit, mentoring, collective workshops, and referral to relevant services.
- Formalisation — Participants gain legal recognition, social rights, access to financing, and a platform for sustainable growth.
The programme relies on trust-based, adaptive relationships and continuous improvement through field observation and evaluation tools. It strengthens agency and social recognition, empowering individuals while integrating them into broader economic and sustainability frameworks.
“We would like to continue what we are doing today to reach as many entrepreneurs in need of support as possible,” said Clara Myard and Lucien Barbier.
IMPACT BOX | 2024 Annual Figures
- Over 3,000 informal entrepreneurs supported nationwide, including overseas territories
- 60% women
- 26% under 30
- 29% recipients of minimum social benefits
- 30% living in priority urban areas
Outcomes
- 78% improved visibility of their activity
- 78% developed their business
- 56% increased income
- 93% of newly registered entrepreneurs report feeling legitimate in their activity
“For many participants, formalisation marks the first time their work is publicly recognised as legitimate,” notes Clara Myard.
Inclusive Entrepreneurship in Europe: From Informality to Sustainable Growth
Beyond individual success, Make It Legit embodies ADIE’s vision of everyday, locally rooted, inclusive entrepreneurship. By reconnecting informal entrepreneurs with public employment, innovation, and sustainability policies, the programme strengthens local economies and broadens Europe’s productive base.
Formalisation acts as a lever for empowerment, income security, ecological transition, and local development, transforming an invisible problem into a tangible, collective solution. EEPA 2025 recognition signals that inclusive entrepreneurship is not a marginal social issue but a strategic driver of sustainable growth.
The ADIE team, present in Copenhagen to receive the award, emphasized the human and practical dimension of their work: “Even small, everyday choices — like taking the train to attend the ceremony — reflect our philosophy: entrepreneurship for all, by all, and for local communities.”
