Program Managers From SAP, Airbus and Kohler Co. Share Their Experiences As Social Intrapreneurs
Program Managers From SAP, Airbus and Kohler Co. Share Their Experiences As Social Intrapreneurs
For 14 months, we’ve been working closely with remarkable employees at some of the best known corporations in the world. We wanted to understand how they are driving corporate innovation from within and making their companies a force for good. On Tuesday, we spoke live to some of these intrepid Social Intrapreneurs, and shared the findings from our extensive joint research. Here’s what we learned.
WHAT IS A SOCIAL INTRAPRENEUR?
You might have heard words like ‘intrapreneur’ or ‘social enterprise,’ but what is a Social Intrapreneur and what do they do? Here’s the definition we go by:
“/ˈsəʊ.ʃəl ɪntrəprəˈnɜːʃɪp/: A Social Intrapreneur is an entrepreneurial employee who develops a profitable new product, service, or business model that creates value for society and her company.
This can include working with social entrepreneurs to lean on and/or scale their model through the company’s value chain.
Social intrapreneurs help their employers meet sustainability commitments and create value for customers and communities in ways that are built to last.”
In other words, a Social Intrapreneur seeks to create social innovation from within their company. They solve human problems while continuing to make profits for their business. This has the benefit of allowing the Social Intrapreneur to rally the know-how and expertise of the corporation behind a social end.
OUR RESEARCH: A PLAYBOOK FOR SOCIAL INTRAPRENEURS
How can companies support Social Intrapreneurs? How can they build structures to fast-track social innovation to scale? And of course, how can employees themselves succeed as Social Intrapreneurs? In cooperation with Growth Mechanics, INSEAD, HEC Paris and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, these are the questions that we sought to address in our research, with some fascinating results. Want to find out more?
INSIGHTS FROM SAP, AIRBUS AND KOHLER CO
We had the pleasure of hosting a panel at the Global Intrapreneurship Week with employees from corporations doing some very exciting work as Social Intrapreneurs. Yunus Social Business Co-founder and CEO Saskia Bruysten spoke with:
- Rey Buckman, Airbus BizLab (#Africa4Future)
- Deborah Kaplan, SAP 1 Billion Lives
- Angie Peltzer, Kohler Co
Introducing the Playbook was Emil Lamprecht from Growth Mechanics, one of the key drivers of the research project.
“I Was Truly Blown Away When I Heard the News” - Yunus Social Business Has Distributed 650k USD to H
Since the COVID-19 crisis began in January this year, we at Yunus Social Business have been acutely aware of the potential threat it poses to the populations we support. While governments in wealthy European countries have been subsidising employee salaries, this has not been the case for the emerging countries in which our portfolio Social Businesses operate.
The Life-Savers Now Need Saving
Corona has already delivered a punishing blow in Germany. In developing countries, it’s hitting like a Tsunami. The economy has been brought to its knees. Half a billion people could slip deeper into poverty. Social businesses are part of the solution.
What Is ‘Social Procurement’? And 5 Ways To Do It Right.
Is it possible for a fledgling social business to source to a large corporation? Sounds tough, but we know it can work! Corporations have so much to learn from social businesses about putting people and the planet first - and corporations are a great opportunity for a social business looking to scale. It can be the perfect combination. But it needs work.
