Innovation is a cornerstone of corporate strategy, and EDF understands this! The Group is heavily involved in innovation issues and is a pioneer in new approaches, and was honoured at the ninth edition of the Corporate Start-up Stars on Thursday 4 December in Paris. It was an opportunity for the company to demonstrate its ability to innovate and collaborate with startups.
What are the Corporate Start-up Stars?
These awards recognise the best innovation practices of companies from all over the world. They were created in 2016 by the European Commission and are now organised by the International Chamber of Commerce, the Paris-based global business organisation, and the American innovation consultancy Mind the Bridge. The awards recognise pioneering companies in the field of collaboration with start-ups, based on a broad scope: open innovation, venture client, corporate venture capital (CVC), intrapreneurship and company creation.
EDF stood out from the crowd by winning a special prize for its practices in developing new businesses based on projects initiated by Group employees. This programme, called EDF Pulse Incubation, supports the growth of new activities that meet the following conditions: they are in line with EDF's values, they create value for the Group and they position the Group in the key areas of the future.
How does it work in practice?
The incubatees, as the projects are known, follow an 18-month path marked out by GO/NO GO phases that enable them to de-risk their project. They are supported by experts and entrepreneurs who will help them move from the idea to the creation of a start-up or business unit.
And today, it's a success story that continues to unfold, with teams incubated and 12 new subsidiaries created since the start of the programme.