In Africa, entrepreneurship is often celebrated, but fewer people talk about intrapreneurship — the practice of thinking and acting like an entrepreneur inside an organization. According to Deloitte, companies with intrapreneurial staff are more innovative, more profitable, and less likely to suffer from disengagement.
What Is Intrapreneurship?
An intrapreneur is an employee who takes ownership of projects as if they were running their own business. They don’t just execute tasks; they innovate, solve problems, and find ways to grow revenue or reduce costs.
Why It Matters for Career Growth
Visibility: Intrapreneurs get noticed quickly by management.
Value Creation: They align personal growth with company success.
Job Security: They make themselves indispensable by constantly adding value.
How to Become an Intrapreneur
Adopt a Business-Owner Mindset: Ask yourself daily, “If this were my business, what would I do differently?”
Identify Opportunities: Look for inefficiencies, client complaints, or process gaps, and propose solutions.
Take Calculated Risks: Don’t just highlight problems — implement small experiments to fix them.
Communicate Results: Share your wins with managers to reinforce your value.
Be like Bolanle
Take Bolanle, a mid-level HR professional in Lagos. Instead of simply following standard procedures, she created a streamlined onboarding process that reduced new employee turnover by 20%. Her initiative saved the company money and earned her recognition from top management.
Intrapreneurs like Bolanle prove that you don’t have to own a business to think like a business leader.
👉 Join the EDGE Mastery Program and learn how to transition from ordinary employee to high-impact intrapreneur in 90 days.