How to test your project in a company incubator?
Verified 25 September 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)
A company incubator accompanies the project leader before creation on his company, offering him a legal framework secure and a personalized support through the signing of a contract to support the company project (Cape).
The company incubator is a testing facility real size a company project.
The incubator is intended for any project holder in one of the following situations:
- To bejobseeker receiving compensation
- Perceive a social minima (RSA: titleContent, ASS: titleContentetc.)
- To be part-time employee
- Be a single associate director of a SASU: titleContent or a EURL: titleContent.
Your company project must be advanced stage (e.g. by initiating business plan thinking and market research). But the company does not have to be already registered in RNE: titleContent.
The company incubator allows:
- Build his project (market research, business planetc.)
- Test your idea on a real scale without taking significant financial risks: use of Siren number the incubator while achieving real billing and turnover
- To be relieved of accounting and formalities which are carried out by the incubator
- Access to networks of professionals
- Be formed by experts.
By integrating an incubator, you must sign a company project support contract (Cape). By this contract, the company accompanied (brooded) undertakes to follow a program training in the creation or management of a company.
The incubator allows to use its unique identification number (Siren) for sell and bill its services or goods. However, it is possible to use its trade name if you have declared one.
The incubator takes care of formalities and the accounting.
Thus, it makes it possible tosave some costs , in particular:
- Chartered accountant
- Business bank account
- Professional indemnity insurance
In exchange, the incubator takes a percentage (10% approximately) on the turnover achieved.
The accompaniment is of a duration 12 months, renewable twice.
Please note
The accompanied entrepreneur (brood) benefits from the general social security system according to his status and the maintenance of unemployment benefits.
Duration of the contract Cape
Commitments of the Cape beneficiary (before and after registration of the activity)
Sheet 7 and Annex to Sheets 7 and 8 on the company project support contract (Cape)
You must constitute a application file which presents your project. It is analyzed by the incubator managers.
You must defend and argue your project during amaintenance.
As a result of this process, your file is selected or not.
The generated turnover is directly paid into the bank account of the incubator.
The incubator takes a participation on your turnover, on average of 10%.
Please note
If you are a job seeker, you keep your registration with France Travail and your allowances. If you are an employee, you also retain your status.
You can use the following search tool:
Find the incubator closest to home
You can contact the national network of incubators in France.
You can also contact France Labor.
The following table summarizes the main characteristics of the company project support and testing facilities.
Incubator | Activity and Employment Cooperative (CAE) | Nursery | Incubator | |
Which project leader? | Job seeker – Part-time employee – RSA beneficiary | Job seeker – Part-time employee – RSA beneficiary | Independent contractor | Any holder of innovative project |
What stage of the project? | Company not created - Project start | Company not created - Project start | Recent company (less than 6 months) | New project, new activity - Future company or company already installed (young) |
What kind of activities? | Any type of activities | Any type of activities | Any type of activities | Start-up - Innovative activity of any kind (industrial, agricultural, commercial, craft) |
What is the main advantage? | Full-scale risk-free testing – Cape contract until the company is created | Entrepreneur-employee under contract Cape – Permanent status (CDI) | Attractively priced premises – Shared services | Support for the raising of investment funds and the business plan – Networking |
Who can help me?
The Public Service company Advisors
Do you have a project, a difficulty, a question of everyday life?
Simple and free: you are called back within 5 days by THE advisor who can help you.
Definition of the company project support contract (Cape)
Duration of the Cape
Commitments of the project leader under contract Cape
Social protection of the Cape beneficiary
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