Silver Economy support from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry

With around 35% of its population being over 60-year-old, the department of Creuse is one of the older ones in the country, while also being a rural territory facing depopulation and a lack of services. In this County more than 20% of +60 are vulnerable and facing a loss of autonomy. At the same time, the County of Creuse is economically very attractive and the sector of commercial goods for individuals has the faster growth.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Creuse, in France, has developed mainly since 2010 a silver economy approach in its support to regional SMEs. By organising events such as “Silver economy: the economy for the ageing society” in January 2018, developing the topic in its newspaper and different communication channels and organising networking sessions, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry managed to raise awareness on the sector of the Silver Economy at local level.

To encourage the development of goods and services for the vulnerable and ageing population of the territory, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry started offering advisory and monitoring services on the Silver Economy sector. One of the strengths of its strategy is to target all SMEs, and not only the ones specialised in Silver Economy goods and services, in order to promote the development of a more diversified offer for older adults.