Intrapreneruship: driving innovation

It is possible to foster an entrepreneurial spirit without working in a startup, and you can still be innovative within a large company. This the daily motto of intrapreneurs, who have been given the opportunity to develop their new ideas within their current company. These internal programs allow for a project to evolve in a flexible environment, and the practice is becoming more and more popular within BNP Paribas.

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.

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%).

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.

• Home for Innovation in Belgium

• Colibri in Switzerland

• 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 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

• 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!