Mathilde LEFRANÇOIS, Co-Founder Farmitoo
2015 Graduate
A 2015 graduate, Mathilde Lefrançois has already set up two businesses: Kwaala, which she sold, and Farmitoo, a marketplace for the sale of agricultural equipment, which she now runs.
“The concept of entrepreneurship wasn’t foreign to me. Both my grandfather and father are entrepreneurs. So, growing up, I had some exposure to the idea of starting a business. However, I believe ESSCA played a significant role as well. The courses I took and my semesters abroad greatly contributed to shaping my entrepreneurial mindset”.
First steps
After completing an Entrepreneurship major in ESSCA’s Master in Management programme, Mathilde Lefrançois launched her first company, Kwaala, a peer-to-peer marketplace for renting travel equipment. “ESSCA played a central role throughout this initial entrepreneurial journey, both in terms of the courses taught on the entrepreneurship major and the quality of the guest speakers, including successful entrepreneurs and young innovators,” she notes.
“I was not only inspired with numerous ideas and the drive to launch my own business, but I also benefited from the supportive ESSCA environment,” Mathilde continues. “I was fortunate to win the second edition of the Digiprize, a competition organized by ESSCA, and to receive the Entreprendre scholarship through the ESSCA Alumni network and our class sponsor, François Pérol. Additionally, I recently received the ESSCA Awards Young Talent Prize from the ESSCA Alumni community in 2019, an accomplishment of which I am immensely proud.”
Following her success with Kwaala, Mathilde ventured into another project, founding the
association Aqua and undertaking missions to assess social impact in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America.
Reaching new heights …
This experience led the young entrepreneur to create a new start-up, Farmitoo, a marketplace for the sale of agricultural equipment between manufacturers and farmers. “The ESSCA alumni network provided invaluable support,” she says.
Farmitoo raised €1 million, then an impressive €10 million in Series A funding. Further success followed with an additional €2.5 million secured at the end of 2023.