Innovation is often seen as a catalyst for growth. After all, innovation allows businesses to adapt to shifting circumstances and thrive in a highly competitive world. In fact, a recent Ernst & Young survey revealed that innovation still remains a high priority in industries like tech: approximately 81% of technology executives have stated that their companies intend to pursue innovation-related acquisitions within the next six months.
The importance of pursuing innovation is why corporate venture-building and innovation group Embiggen and the Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI) recently celebrated the official launch of the GIMI community in the Philippines. The launch, which took place on July 6 at the Meridian Innovation Center, recognized GIMI-certified innovators and IXL Innovation Olympics Champions (an international innovation consulting competition) while also providing a place for entrepreneurs to interact.
GIMI provides internationally recognized certification programs in innovation for individuals and organizations. The organization boasts a track record of training and certifying over 10,000 innovators, including professionals from renowned Fortune 500 companies such as H&M, Pfizer, and HSBC.
Founded in 2019, Embiggen works with established organizations to build, scale, and invest in new digital ventures at startup speed. The group’s innovation learning arm, the Embiggen Innovation Institute, carries the distinction of being GIMI’s exclusive certified training partner in the Philippines.
“As the first corporate innovation community in the country, Embiggen has always been about pushing boundaries and inspiring people and organizations to discover their true potential,” said Embiggen CEO Rolan Marco Garcia. “After establishing ourselves here in the Philippines, we eventually want to bring our brand of innovation into Europe and the rest of Asia.”
The launch of the GIMI community aims to encourage innovation by making GIMI’s expertise and experience accessible to Filipino businesses. The launch becomes timely considering the Philippines recently slid eight places in the 2022 Global Innovation Index, now ranking just 59th out of 131 countries.
Coming together for innovation
In his opening remarks, former Philippine Chamber of Commerce Industry President Ambassador Benedicto Yujuico emphasized innovation’s role as a growth engine for the country. “Innovation is the key to truly making the Philippines great again,” Yujuico stated. “It’s events like these, which brings together people focused on innovating, that give me the confidence we will continue to see growth in the country.”
Similarly, GIMI Executive Director, Dr. Hitendra Patel, underscored the positive impact of innovation and GIMI’s goal to reach government, universities, and schools in the country. Collaboration and unity are crucial for innovation, as highlighted by the GIMI slogan, “together, we can.”
Dr. Patel pointed out the presence of notable companies like Ayala, which have embraced innovation, and universities like AIM, which are actively cultivating innovative talent. However, he stressed that collaboration is needed as these efforts alone fall short.
Dr. Patel advocated for the presence of more bold leaders who constantly look for ways to shape the future. He underscored the necessity for individuals who possess the ability to envision the future and manifest it in reality. “The Philippines needs more individuals who can imagine the future and make it real,” said Dr. Patel. “Singapore, South Korea, and even China were late to the game but are now all investing heavily to become the innovation leaders in the region and the world. GIMI would like to help the Philippines to be part of this elite group of countries by driving certification of individuals to innovate and helping organizations to become high-performance innovators.”
To aid the Philippines in achieving this aspiration, GIMI partnered with Embiggen. Recognizing Embiggen’s extensive talent pool and expertise, GIMI deemed it an ideal partner to implement GIMI certification and programs across various sectors, including government bodies, corporations, universities, and SMBs.
“We are excited at the great strides already made by the Embiggen and look forward to what is coming next,” expressed Dr. Patel.
Standardizing innovation
Following the initial speakers was an open forum with a panel offering a deeper dive into how GIMI’s unique innovation framework benefited both Embiggen and its clients. The panel consisted of Dr. Patel, GIMI Director of Strategic Partnerships Erila Haska, Country Managing Director for Asia and Mauritius at IXL Center Rohan Sakpal, Embiggen Head of Innovation Consulting Jimbo Reverente, and Ayala Head of Innovation Vincent Patrick Tobias. All panelists shared their own unique insights on what the launch of the new GIMI community means for Filipino entrepreneurs.
GIMI aims to democratize innovation by offering globally-recognized standards and testing protocols. For example, Embiggen works with GIMI to offer Filipino entrepreneurs the chance to become a GIMI Certified Professional (CIP) across four levels from associate to manager.
Even at the first level, becoming a GIMI CIP entails a rigorous 6-week program that reviews the best innovation frameworks, methodologies, and tools GIMI developed with the world’s top corporations. Sessions in the program are specifically dedicated to training participants to identify the best business opportunities, discover their innovation intent, and review the top innovation business cases so far.
The program emphasizes taking innovation-related frameworks and theories and applying them practically to each participant’s business operations. The end goal is to ensure that every CIP possesses the skills to lead the entire process of business innovation, from ideation to commercialization.
For instance, Reverente explained during the panel that working with GIMI improved their venture-building and consulting capabilities. “GIMI’s framework facilitated a systematic approach, which helped us address growth gaps in our corporate clientele,” Reverente said.
Similarly, Tobias mentioned that GIMI provided a new source of ideas, enhancing Ayala’s creative thinking and problem-solving abilities. According to Tobias, GIMI’s help also bridged the communication gap between Ayala and its new stakeholders.
Tobias emphasized the role of innovation in Ayala. “Disruptions will only get stronger from here on and customer preferences and behaviors will change more quickly,” he said. “The only way businesses can keep up is if its technologies, business models, and most importantly, its people and culture are able to pivot accordingly.”
Tobias shared that in 2016 Ayala benefited from GIMI’s Innovation Olympics program where the challenge was to find Ayala’s next growth opportunity. The challenge featured MBA teams from Kellogg, INSEAD, Calgary, Erasmus, a Ph.D. team from Stanford, and the Asian Institute of Management all contributing to help Ayala build an innovation culture.
Eventually, Ayala’s executives also became involved in the program, learning different innovation frameworks and tools while also getting professionally certified. The executives benefited from GIMI’s simple but substantial framework, which surfaced insights from throughout all points of the organization: front liners, customers, vendors, and partners.
“The program created both business value and organizational value at the same time while allowing the innovation culture across the Ayala Group to snowball,” said Tobias.
Building a community of innovators
Yet it’s not just learning and insights that GIMI has to offer. Becoming GIMI certified means access to a network of over 15,000 innovators worldwide, including the members of Fortune 500 companies that have all been trained by GIMI.
GIMI’s network is particularly key for its program graduates given GIMI’s belief that collaboration is a catalyst for innovation. “Being able to work with partners is one of the key characteristics we look for in aspiring innovators,” said Sakpal.
The emphasis on collaboration proved especially apt as the open forum concluded with a call for attendees to work together to create innovations that would improve society. “What really keeps me going is I know innovation can improve the Philippines,” said Reverente. “We deserve that improvement. Innovation can be the catalyst for growth that transforms us into a first-world country—which I truly believe we deserve.”
By offering expertise, resources, and a culture of collaboration, the newly-launched GIMI community makes innovation more accessible than it’s ever been.