Banque Populaire
Banque Populaire is a French cooperative banking network, part of Groupe BPCE, not a venture fund. Its regional banks occasionally co-invest in early-stage French water startups, from rechargeable water-treatment electrodes to on-site water reuse for hotels. As of 2026 it has backed 2 water companies, both at seed stage.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Banque Populaire is one of France's oldest cooperative banks, going back to 1878 when the first banque populaire opened in Angers to lend to the local tradespeople and small businesses the big banks would not touch. It is owned by its members, not by shareholders on a stock exchange, and today it forms one half of Groupe BPCE, France's second-largest banking group, run as a federation of twelve regional banks rather than a single head office.
Banque Populaire is not a venture fund, and that is the first thing to understand about finding it among a young company's investors. Its water bets come from the regional banks, not a central water team, written close to home through innovation programs like Next Innov and almost always as a co-investor, putting money in alongside the public bank Bpifrance and local business angels rather than leading the round itself.
Banque Populaire has backed two water companies that (don't) Waste Water tracks, both at seed stage, the first outside cheque a young company takes. The thread is decentralised, resource-light water: Anodine, a Grenoble deeptech spun out of CNRS research, builds rechargeable electrodes that clean wastewater with far less rare metal, while Luniwave fits hotels with shower hardware that cuts the water guests send down the drain. Neither was a round Banque Populaire led; it came in behind others, the way a territorial bank backs the startups on its own doorstep.
Banque Populaire is, in the end, a bank doing what cooperative banks were built for: financing the small, local, slightly risky businesses nearby, and a couple of those happen to work on water. There is no dedicated water fund to watch here, so for a newcomer the signal is the regional banks and the Next Innov innovation pipeline, where the next French water startup it backs is most likely to surface.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 2 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Banque Populaire invest in?
- Banque Populaire is a full-service cooperative bank: its main business is lending, accounts and insurance for individuals, entrepreneurs and small firms across France. In water it is a small, occasional equity investor, backing early-stage French startups in water treatment and on-site water reuse, usually co-investing alongside the public bank Bpifrance.
- Is Banque Populaire a bank or a venture capital fund?
- Banque Populaire is a bank, not a venture capital fund. It is a network of regional cooperative banks inside Groupe BPCE, and its handful of startup equity stakes are made by those regional banks through innovation programs like Next Innov, not by a dedicated fund with outside investors and a fixed pool of capital.
- What water startups has Banque Populaire backed?
- Banque Populaire has backed two water companies tracked by (don't) Waste Water, both at seed stage: Anodine, a Grenoble deeptech building rechargeable wastewater-treatment electrodes that use far less rare metal, and Luniwave, which equips hotels with shower technology that cuts water use. Both were co-investments alongside Bpifrance and regional backers.
- Who owns Banque Populaire?
- Banque Populaire is a cooperative, owned by its roughly five million member-customers rather than by stock-market shareholders. Since 2009 it has been one of the two networks inside Groupe BPCE, France's second-largest banking group, sitting alongside the Caisse d'Epargne savings banks while keeping its own brand and twelve regional banks.
- Where is Banque Populaire based?
- Banque Populaire is based in France, with central functions in Paris as part of Groupe BPCE. In practice it operates as twelve regional cooperative banks rooted in their own territories, which is why its startup investments, including its water bets, tend to be French companies close to one of those regional banks.