India Inc bets on 'intrapreneurs'
India Inc has devised a way to encourage intrapreneurs or employees who have ideas that could potentially become a venture in itself.
By Shreya Biswas, ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: Managing ideas may be as challenging as a business. And a lucrative one too. Little wonder then, India Inc has devised a way to do just that���encourage ���intrapreneurs��� or employees who have ideas that could potentially become a venture in itself. They would focus on ideas that could be implemented on a large scale with support from organisations or get the initial funding to check the commercial feasibility.
In many cases, these intrapreneurs end up steering those projects and ventures. The catch, though, is the idea has to be strategically aligned with the interest of the company. Some companies bitten by the intrapreneurship bug include Adobe, NIIT, KPMG, Pepsi and Microsoft.
Adobe, for instance, launched the incubation programme for its Indian employees three years back. This was following the success of its global seed programme. Under the programme, employees generate ideas which are then sifted through various channels and finally recommended by a committee for innovation���, set up specifically for the purpose. Once it���s approved, these ideas get the support from Adobe���s global expert pool for further development.
���Creative ideas can come from anywhere and that calls for a robust system to nurture and develop those into something noteworthy,��� says Adobe CEO Naresh Chand Gupta. Apart from initial funding of $1 million, the idea initiator also gets a 6-12 months window to work on it. If it succeeds, it���s scaled up and the person behind it ends up heading the entire project or venture. The programme is already yielding results. In the last three years, the IT major���s Indian arm filed 60 and 25% of the patents filed by Adobe worldwide last year came from India alone.
Similarly, Growth Through Innovation (GRIN) programme at NIIT was introduced with the same objective three years ago. Under the programme, any new idea goes through various levels of sifting. Once approved, its commercial viability is gauged and then the initiative is supported through funds at various stages.
Till now, this channel has generated six ideas that are running successfully in the form of IFBI Institute, NIIT Imperia, NIIT-Litmus to name a few, and five employees who were the brain behind them head their respective ventures. The NIIT incubation programme helps the idea till it acquires a certain size and can operate on its own. ���This was done to encourage newer ideas and offer them a breeding ground,��� says NIIT New Business Incubation president Ashish Basu.
In many cases, these intrapreneurs end up steering those projects and ventures. The catch, though, is the idea has to be strategically aligned with the interest of the company. Some companies bitten by the intrapreneurship bug include Adobe, NIIT, KPMG, Pepsi and Microsoft.
Adobe, for instance, launched the incubation programme for its Indian employees three years back. This was following the success of its global seed programme. Under the programme, employees generate ideas which are then sifted through various channels and finally recommended by a committee for innovation���, set up specifically for the purpose. Once it���s approved, these ideas get the support from Adobe���s global expert pool for further development.
���Creative ideas can come from anywhere and that calls for a robust system to nurture and develop those into something noteworthy,��� says Adobe CEO Naresh Chand Gupta. Apart from initial funding of $1 million, the idea initiator also gets a 6-12 months window to work on it. If it succeeds, it���s scaled up and the person behind it ends up heading the entire project or venture. The programme is already yielding results. In the last three years, the IT major���s Indian arm filed 60 and 25% of the patents filed by Adobe worldwide last year came from India alone.
Similarly, Growth Through Innovation (GRIN) programme at NIIT was introduced with the same objective three years ago. Under the programme, any new idea goes through various levels of sifting. Once approved, its commercial viability is gauged and then the initiative is supported through funds at various stages.
Till now, this channel has generated six ideas that are running successfully in the form of IFBI Institute, NIIT Imperia, NIIT-Litmus to name a few, and five employees who were the brain behind them head their respective ventures. The NIIT incubation programme helps the idea till it acquires a certain size and can operate on its own. ���This was done to encourage newer ideas and offer them a breeding ground,��� says NIIT New Business Incubation president Ashish Basu.
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