What is intrapreneurship?
The concept is nothing new, but its rise in popularity in France only
began a few years ago. Begun in the United States in 1970, the term
intrepreneurship references internal initiatives intended to break
through the often complex processes within large organizations.
Companies seeking agility can implement these programs and allow the
innovative ideas of their employees to come to fruition. Several terms
are often used—“internal incubator”, “lab”, “hub”, “booster” —but the
core ideas remain the same: imagination, drive and creativity, as well
as transversality to allow for diverse teams to share their skill sets.
Positive impacts: saying yes to intrapreneurship!
Intrapreneurship fosters emerging talent within a company, as well as the use and adoption of new technologies and business models. It can also lead to creative solutions to societal issues and keep employees more engaged in their work. A whole market serving intrapreneurship has also developed as many platforms and applications are available to assist companies in starting their own programs.
According to one study conducted by intrapreneurship accelerator Pulse-on, managers involved in these projects found that intrapreneurship helps to develop a creative team spirit (40%), bring out driving talent (22%), expand employee’s roles (14%), and increase business for the company (8%).People’s Lab4Good and Intrapreneurship at BNP Paribas
Convinced by the potential that intrapreneurship has to offer, the BNP Paribas Group has implemented multiple internal programs in order to allow a large number of employees to unleash their potential for innovation.
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Home for Innovation in Belgium
Colibri in Switzerland
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Lux Future Lab in Luxembourg
In House Intrapreneurship Program in Turkey
People’sLab4Good in France
The
latter being established under the guidance of Company Engagement, this program
works to help intrapreneurs establish
projects with a positive impact that work to improve business and societal or
environmental issues in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives of
the UN. More than a dozen intrapreneurs in this program coming from various
countries and business lines of the Group were selected via applications.
The 3rd season of People’s Lab4Good
The
latter being established under the guidance of Company Engagement, this program
works to help intrapreneurs establish
projects with a positive impact that work to improve business and societal or
environmental issues in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives of
the UN. There are more than a dozen intrapreneurs in this program coming from various
countries and business lines of the Group were selected via applications.
- Finance4Good: an
intrapreneur from Luxembourg started this responsible savings account for individual
clients wanting to invest in the sustainable economy
- Green On: an
intrapreneur proposed this project, launched in 2019, which offers a better
energy performance for office buildings. Utilizing expertise available within
the Group (Real Estate, Leasing Solutions, FRB Business), Green On is a
complete solution for energy efficiency, from diagnostics to implementation,
including financial advice for all renovations
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Lastly, in 2019, an intrapreneur developed “Green and Connected”. This initiative promotes responsible digitalization. It works to raise awareness of the best practices to limit digital pollution, whether it be managing an inbox or better configuration of programs!
Photo credit: Cavan Images