Intrapreneurs in big firms bloom when bosses supply the mulch

BIG companies are not known to be entrepreneurial. Many of them don't know, or don't believe, they have entrepreneurs in their midst. Indeed, they are often quicker to stamp them out than seek them out.

And so it was encouraging to read in The Business Times last week that battling the threat from more nimble fintechs, some big banks have put systems in place to tap their employees for innovation.

Standard Chartered Bank gives its worldwide staff 100 "innovation dollars" each to invest in ideas they like, with the winning ideas going up to management. OCBC Bank has an innovation lab called OpenVault where bankers can experiment with new concepts after hours. DBS has a programme to pump money into employees' startup projects and even allows them to raise funding from outside parties.