Murielle Omer Gabriel—better known as Murielle Toto—leads Guadeloupe’s Regional Chamber of the Social and Solidarity Economy (CRESS) from Pointe-à-Pitre, arguing that the islands need an economic model built as much around social outcomes and environmental limits as around financial staying power.
Official records from France’s INSEE statistics agency and the INPI intellectual property office list her company as active, registered since May 1988 at 11 rue Delgrès in Pointe-à-Pitre—an address that reflects how closely her work remains tied to the Guadeloupe archipelago.
Her guiding idea is simple: “Entreprendre autrement” (“to do business differently”). Through CRESS Guadeloupe, Toto brings together local players in the social and solidarity economy—cooperatives, associations, mutuals and foundations—operating in an island context where economic vulnerability and climate risk often stack up at the same time.
Linking social impact, ecology and financial viability
Toto’s case is that the social and solidarity economy—often shortened in France to “ESS”—shouldn’t be treated as a niche on the edge of the market. In her view, it offers a structural response to pressures that are especially acute in France’s overseas territories: high unemployment, heavy reliance on imports, and exposure to climate-related shocks.
CRESS Guadeloupe positions itself as a tool for local development that can create value without weakening community ties or the environment. The approach has long existed in the French Caribbean, but Toto has pushed for a more concrete translation on the ground: helping ESS organizations build skills, weighing in on regional public decisions, and getting policymakers to recognize the sector’s real economic footprint on the island.
A long-running local presence in a territory with distinct challenges
Toto’s local roots are documented over time. Her activity is registered under legal category “1000” in France’s official business directory—evidence, the article notes, of an engagement that predates today’s debates over ecological transition or corporate social impact.
In Guadeloupe, the ESS functions as a safety net for communities that the traditional private sector often struggles to reach. CRESS serves as an interface between on-the-ground organizations and public authorities at both the regional and national levels—an increasingly important role as the French state looks to strengthen cohesion across its overseas territories, giving added weight to the public positions taken by CRESS Guadeloupe’s president.
