Banque de Vizille

What they do

Originally established in 1988 in Lyon as Banque de Vizille, the firm built a strong reputation as a premier merchant bank and investor for SMEs in the French regions. Following internal consolidations, it evolved into Crédit Mutuel Equity. Today, it operates as an evergreen investor, deploying the proprietary balance sheet capital of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale. This structure allows them to invest without the liquidity constraints of traditional funds, providing patient capital across venture, growth, and buyout stages. They are known for their "third way" approach, focusing on sustainable, human-centric investments and long-term partnerships with a portfolio of over 350 companies.

What they look for

Crédit Mutuel Equity provides "transformation capital" focused on business model transformation, equity transition, and international expansion. Because they invest their own capital, their core thesis revolves around "patient capital"-giving entrepreneurs the time they need to realize their visions without the pressure of short-term exit horizons. They look for companies at all stages of maturity that require flexible capital to pass formative milestones, prioritizing strong management teams, sustainable growth trajectories, and projects involving technological innovation, ownership succession, or cross-border scaling.

Stage

Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+

Sectors

Healthcare, Deeptech, AI, SaaS, Climate, Food and agriculture, Consumer

Based

Paris, FR