Commune raises €1.5M to open its first two coliving residences for single-parent families

Commune’s mission:

Create coliving residences designed for single-parent families: connected and environmentally responsible, organised around shared spaces (kitchen/dining room, polyvalent games room, laundry room and outdoor spaces), with private units  (which can accommodate – in this first phase – either 1 parent and 1 child, or 1 parent and 2 children) and tailor-made services.

In addition to sports events and festive gatherings, Commune will also offer legal aid, school support, baby-sitting and extra-curricular activities, meeting the specific needs of parents and their children and allowing them to grow.

Commune’s goal: 

Allow single parents and their children to avoid the social, professional and financial downward spiral in which the vast majority of them find themselves following a break-up. Indeed, the estimates show that single-parent families loose nearly 28% in their quality of life one year after the break-up, and that they are twice as likely to be socially excluded than the others.

Moreover, single-parent families represent a growing proportion of the population: 1 in 4 French families are in a single-parent situation (INSEE) and it is almost 1 in 3 families in the Paris region, numbers  that are constantly increasing.

Commune takes up the challenge with a turnkey housing and services offer that allows savings of up to 30% compared to current market alternatives, and by reducing the mental burden on parents throughout their stay, which is expected to last between 1 and 3 years.

The co-founder wanted to raise funds in their own image and wanted an investor base that was as representative and equal as possible. As a result, this round has 13 nationalities, 45% women, 50% first-time investors (i.e. for whom Commune was the first private equity investment), and there is a gap of almost 45 years between the oldest and the youngest member of the round.

The co-founder wanted to raise funds in their own image and wanted an investor base that was as representative and equal as possible. As a result, this round has 13 nationalities, 45% women, 50% first-time investors (i.e. for whom Commune was the first private equity investment), and there is a gap of almost 45 years between the oldest and the youngest member of the round.

Amongst Commune’s early supporters are Benjamin Abdi (co-founder of Lalilo), Olivier Bonnet (CTO of BlaBlaCar), Maisons Julien and Kelly Dassault (an investment company specialised in the financing of impact businesses), Danielle Deruy (managing director of AEF Info), Céline Lazorthes (co-founder of Resilience Care), Florent Malbranche (co-founder of Brigad), Céline Orjubin (co-founder of MyLittleParis), Sébastien Roca (partner at Cedrus & Partners) and Mathilde Soubie (co-founder of Studio Artera).