Inside Safran’s intrapreneurship transformation

Safran operates in one of the world’s most demanding industries, where innovation cycles accelerate, competitive pressure intensifies, and emerging technologies redefine market standards. To stay ahead, the Group needed a scalable, structured, and inclusive innovation model capable of mobilizing tens of thousands of employees worldwide.

Beyond generating ideas, Safran faced three strategic challenges:

• Foster a culture of intrapreneurship and empower employees to contribute actively to the Group’s future.
• Accelerate high-value innovation projects aligned with long-term industrial and strategic priorities.
• Scale a proven model across all business entities, without losing agility or governance.

Safran Group partnered with Yumana to structure its intrapreneurship program and turn employee-driven ideas into scalable business opportunities.

The ambition was clear:

Engage employees as drivers of change, accelerate high-potential projects, and scale a proven intrapreneurship framework across all BUs.

Yumana provided the digital backbone powering ideation, project maturation, team building, and governance.

After six years of intrapreneurship, Safran has built one of the most mature innovation engines in the aerospace sector.

Safran turned intrapreneurship into a powerful strategic lever, creating a repeatable system that uncovers opportunities, builds innovation capabilities, and strengthens competitiveness across all business lines.

A step-by-step process designed for inclusivity, strategic alignment, and high-quality project maturation:
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1. Ideation
   Employees submit their most innovative ideas on Yumana’s digital platform, imagining tomorrow’s businesses for Safran.
2. ‍Selection and Community Voting
   Ideas are first screened by the organizing teams, then submitted to a voting phase where employees rally behind the projects with the highest potential.
3. Team Building
   Selected intrapreneurs build multidisciplinary teams, supported by Yumana’s talent-matching feature, to gather needed expertise.‍
4. Bootcamps
   Three 5-day residential bootcamps strengthen strategic clarity, business models, and value propositions. Projects are challenged by experts and coaches to sharpen their impact.‍
5. Exploration & Testing
   Even when projects do not progress to incubation, exploration creates strategic intelligence that informs investment decisions. ‍
6. Incubation & Acceleration
   Projects backed by a sponsor receive a three-year assignment and a dedicated budget to develop, accelerate, and prepare market entry.

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