Creating environments for innovation and supporting new ideas from employees is one of the ways companies have to explore different facets of growth and development.
Reinventing oneself, finding new growth routes, diversifying the portfolio of products and services, opening new lines of business, taking advantage of materials that are underused, are all characteristics of intrapreneurship, a practice that is widespread in the Colombian business ecosystem.
In the past, generating entrepreneurship projects within companies was an activity that occurred occasionally, the result of the curiosity of a member to solve a problem that arose in their daily tasks. Sometimes, this search ended in the resignation to advance the project on a personal basis.
Law 1739 determines that companies that invest in research, technological development or innovation can deduct 175% of the invested value from their income.
Today, many companies have understood that the vein to grow is found in innovation , and a good way is to create favorable environments so that great ideas that become profitable and sustainable projects are cooked and developed in house , that is why it is It is essential to detect these talented people at the right time to retain them and give them proper management, so that they can explore their qualities in innovative projects, be it new business units, a startup or a spin off , when the company and the company are combined. academy. staff.
To favor these processes, it is key to have some elements within the company and create an atmosphere that facilitates the conditions for corporate entrepreneurship:
- Special place: having a specific place for the entrepreneurial team will give it favorable conditions for creative work
- Autonomy: managing time and certain resources is essential to propose innovative projects.
- Sponsor: it is key to have one or more executives or members of senior management on your side who trust in the advantages of intrapreneurship.
- Reward: in addition to the one that contributes to the growth of the organization, the economic compensation also recognizes the innovators.
- Ownership: giving entrepreneurs control of the project is essential to generate leadership and a sense of belonging in them.
Entrepreneurship in Colombia
Entrepreneurship indicators show that the country is in the first places among 54 nations studied by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) , thanks to public and private initiatives, and action plans that have multiplied in recent years in a large part of the territory national.
It is estimated that the Regional Entrepreneurship Networks add up to more than 450 support institutions among government entities and support entities, such as incubators, foundations, among others.
According to figures from Sena, during this government, the Emprender Fund has delivered resources of approximately $233 billion, which means around 3,000 new companies. In the first quarter of 2016, the same fund opened a call with a budget of $15 billion to support business units in all sectors.
With regard to corporate entrepreneurship, the inventiveness of Colombians is increasingly receiving greater encouragement from the companies in which they work , as well as from country policies such as those of Colciencias and iNNpulsa , with their Mega E program, which they motivate companies interested in developing their facet of science, technology and innovation . In addition, Andi has a model for investing in companies, which is intrapreneurship, focused on ensuring that innovation occurs in a planned manner and is not the result of chance .
Google allows its employees to spend 20% of their time thinking and projecting business options, a method that has enabled the technology giant to reach 50% of its innovations.
Under any analysis, intrapreneurship represents a win-win model both for employees, who fulfill a dream of carrying out their projects without having to leave the company with less economic risk , and for companies, which incorporate innovative models as a safe path. of growth and sustainability.
Benefits of supporting entrepreneurship within companies
David Zapata Sanclemente completed his internship in the Concept Design area at Haceb a couple of years ago and had the initiative to join a colleague to participate in the “Who is measured?” contest, of the Government of Antioquia. The challenge was to create a portable equipment to guarantee the cold chain for the vaccines that are taken to indigenous communities that live in rural areas of 31 municipalities of the department.
David found in the company a favorable environment to develop intrapreneurship and thanks to the support and commitment to open innovation that is put into practice in Haceb, he had the support to carry out the project, which was awarded in the contest.
There are other examples like this, since more and more companies trust in the advantages of supporting and promoting intrapreneurs , keeping people with innovative ideas in the work team that can be turned into projects that help organizations grow.
Innovation, the route that countries must follow
Although the entrepreneurial panorama in the country is important, innovation still needs to grow. According to information from GEM, economies driven by innovation present the highest level of internationalization on average, 20%, compared to 6% for those driven by other factors and 13% for those driven by efficiency.
A report by Misión Pyme shows that Colombia, without being a leader in the matter, generates ideas that give concrete results and provide clues to conclude that its performance can be improved in the future. The country was ranked 67th in the 2015 Global Innovation Index among 141 countries and is sixth in Latin America.
Part of this reality is found in the impulse that comes from government sources and specific legislation that favors innovation. For example, the Conpes approved in 2015 conditions for tax deductions to be made to companies that invest in innovation , while for the National Development Plan 2014-2018, the goal is to double investment in science, technology and innovation, from 0 .5% to 1% of GDP.
- The Corona Organization, in several of its companies, puts innovation into practice as a means for growth . The Vice President of Consumables and Construction Materials and manager of Sumicol, Jaime Alberto Ángel, confirms that 1% of the group’s sales are invested in innovation and in some group companies the indicator is 3.5%.
- A notable case is that of Nexentia , a firm created under the spin off methodology between Sumicol and Grupo Coloides, from the University of Antioquia, to produce and market nanotechnology and microencapsulation from non-metallic minerals . Today, Nexentia offers three products to the public: Simplea (microencapsulated calcium carbonate to address calcium sciences in humans), Clean beads (mud masks, kaolin microspheres and ceramic microspheres for the cosmetic sector) and E caps (calcium carbonate microencapsulated to address calcium sciences in equines).
- A notable case is that of Nexentia , a firm created under the spin off methodology between Sumicol and Grupo Coloides, from the University of Antioquia, to produce and market nanotechnology and microencapsulation from non-metallic minerals . Today, Nexentia offers three products to the public: Simplea (microencapsulated calcium carbonate to address calcium sciences in humans), Clean beads (mud masks, kaolin microspheres and ceramic microspheres for the cosmetic sector) and E caps (calcium carbonate microencapsulated to address calcium sciences in equines).
- iNNpulsa, through the “companies creating companies” challenge, chose the 12 Mega-Entrepreneurs of Colombia for their leadership in the development of corporate entrepreneurship. The pioneering companies in this recognition are:
