Giving Compass' Take:

• Social intrapreneurs are employees who create business products or services that generate revenue while maintaining the employer's sustainability commitments. 

• How can businesses better support their social intrapreneurs? How do social intrapreneurs intersect with corporate social responsibility programs?

• Read about how to create the conditions for social intrapreneurs to thrive. 


In the zone where business meets sustainable development, there is a new kind of hero: the social intrapreneur. 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.

Social intrapreneurs help their employers meet sustainability commitments and create value for customers and communities in ways that are built to last. Traditional business models are under pressure from disruptive technologies, low growth in established markets, and challenges in developing and emerging markets, and some companies see social intrapreneurs as one way to stay competitive.

In the zone where business meets sustainable development, there is a new kind of hero: the social intrapreneur. 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.

  1. Funding: Access to funding is essential to help intrapreneurs overcome the opportunity cost of investment.
  2. Building Capability: Intrapreneurs value coaching to help them solve problems as they arise.
  3. Networking: Internal stakeholder engagement both wins investment and assembles the capabilities to get an intrapreneurial venture off the ground.

What stands out from these experiences is that employees are a rich source of ideas with potential to generate revenue, meet sustainability commitments, and create value for customers and communities at the same time. Transforming ideas into profitable ventures can be challenging, but the evidence suggests it can be done.

By paying attention to these three ingredients, other companies can make the targeted investments required to support their social intrapreneurs, and watch the opportunities for growth with impact emerge.

Read the full article on social entrepreneurs by Beth Jenkins at Stanford Social Innovation Review.