MICROCRÉDIT EN 4L

Around the world in a Renault 4 for microfinance

In September 2013, we drove all around the world in a Renault 4 with my childhood friend Nicolas Auber, to support entrepreneurship through microcredit. Today, we’ve written a book, and here’s an excerpt.

“And then it happened. It had to happen. We could have kept preparing for weeks, but the starting line, once so distant in our minds, suddenly felt crystal clear on the morning of Sunday, September 1, 2013. A project long imagined, a day dreamed of countless times—we were finally there.
‘Matthieu, Nicolas, come on! Photos!’ my mother called from the lawn of our garden in Mont-Saint-Aignan.
Friends, family, and loved ones had gathered to see us off and show their support. The sun was shining, the mood was celebratory, but in my head, everything was racing. Had I sent that email to our microcredit officer at Babyloan? Would we be able to fix the starter ourselves? Did I remember my fleece? Click, snap. We moved through the photos with our families, friends, and loved ones… Everything felt unreal.
As soon as the pictures were done, Nicolas asked, ‘Want to drive?’
Wait, what? We’re going now? The starting line was right across from Nicolas’s house, just five minutes from mine. My throat tightened; words failed me. A semicircle formed around the 4L, around Nicolas and me. ‘Time to go!’ It was 3:22 PM—I could hardly believe it. I kissed my parents, turned the key in the 4L, and we set off on what promised to be an unforgettable journey across forty countries, meeting around fifty micro-entrepreneurs along the way.
As we drove away, our eyes stayed on the side mirrors, where our loved ones stood in a line, silently promising to meet us in the same spot a year from now.”