Innovation Hub Launch & Enterprise Ideation

Role

Founder & Program Lead — Innovation Hub

Team

Strategy, Product, Finance, HR, Tech & Operations — with cross-functional SMEs

Tools

Business case scoring, pitch decks, financial modeling, capability frameworks, governance charter

Philosophy

Unlock internal innovation capacity through structure, rigor, and leadership sponsorship — then convert it to commercial value

01

Context

Organizations often have untapped innovation potential distributed across teams, but lack the structure, process, and governance to systematically convert ideas into commercial value.

Geidea needed to shift from ad-hoc ideation to enterprise-grade innovation capability — creating a repeatable system for capturing, evaluating, and executing strategic business opportunities.

Business Challenge

Pre-State Reality

  • • Ideas trapped in departments
  • • No structured evaluation or scoring
  • • Missing governance for innovation pipeline
  • • Innovation seen as "side project" rather than strategic lever

Strategic Imperative

Leadership recognized the need for structured innovation engine to sustain competitive advantage, accelerate digital transformation, and unlock new revenue streams while building organizational capability.

02

Problem

Analysis revealed three critical gaps preventing enterprise innovation from scaling.

1. Innovation Capability Gap

Employees had ideas but lacked frameworks to structure them into investable business cases. No systematic training on ideation, validation, or commercial modeling.

Innovation Capability Gap Analysis

Pre-state assessment showing fragmented innovation efforts across the organization

2. Evaluation & Prioritization Failure

No standard scoring methodology meant ideas were evaluated subjectively. Strategic fit, financial impact, technical feasibility, and resource requirements were not rigorously assessed.

3. Execution Disconnect

Ideas that gained approval often stalled in execution. No clear handoff process from innovation team to product/tech/ops, and no dedicated funding or resourcing model.

"We had passionate people and strong ideas, but no system to convert them into strategic outcomes."

— Chief Strategy Officer

03

Ideation

Goal: Build an enterprise innovation engine with structured ideation, rigorous evaluation, executive sponsorship, and clear execution pathways.

01

Capability Building

Train employees on ideation frameworks, business case development, and pitch storytelling.

02

Scoring Framework

Multi-criteria evaluation model: strategic fit, financial impact, feasibility, market opportunity.

03

Governance Structure

Executive-led Innovation Committee with decision rights, funding authority, and accountability.

04

Pitch Process

Structured pitch days where teams present business cases to leadership for funding and sponsorship.

05

Execution Pathway

Clear handoff to product/tech with dedicated resourcing, milestones, and performance tracking.

Innovation Hub Framework

End-to-end innovation framework: Ideation → Evaluation → Pitch → Funding → Execution

04

Process

A phased approach combining capability development, governance setup, and systematic ideation cycles.

Phase 1 — Foundation

Innovation Scoring Matrix

Multi-criteria business case evaluation framework used by Innovation Committee

Phase 2 — Capability Building

Phase 3 — Execution Cycles

"We democratized innovation while maintaining strategic discipline through rigorous evaluation."

— Program Reflection

05

Implementation

Execution balanced grassroots engagement with executive governance to ensure ideas were both innovative and commercially viable.

Innovation Hub Structure

Business Case Development

Each idea progressed through:

Innovation Pitch Day Event

Teams presenting business cases to Innovation Committee during quarterly pitch day

Scoring & Selection

Evaluation Criteria

  • Strategic Alignment: Fit with business priorities and vision (30%)
  • Financial Impact: Revenue potential, cost savings, ROI (30%)
  • Feasibility: Technical capability, resource availability, execution risk (25%)
  • Market Opportunity: Customer demand, competitive differentiation, scalability (15%)

Funding & Execution

Approved business cases received:

06

Results

The Innovation Hub transformed Geidea from reactive problem-solving to proactive value creation, delivering measurable business impact and capability uplift.

120+
Innovators Engaged
Cross-functional participation
30+
Business Cases
Structured and evaluated
SAR 800M
Value Potential
Validated revenue/savings
15
Ideas Funded
In execution pipeline
85%
Leadership Engagement
C-suite participation
3
Revenue Streams
New product launches

Strategic Outcomes

Business Case Highlights

Top Innovation Initiatives

  • Digital Merchant Acquisition Platform: Self-service onboarding reducing CAC by 40%
  • AI-Powered Risk Engine: Fraud detection system saving SAR 180M annually
  • SME Financial Suite: New revenue stream targeting underserved segment
  • Operations Automation: RPA initiative eliminating 25,000 manual hours/year

"The Innovation Hub didn't just generate ideas — it built a strategic capability that continuously fuels our growth and competitive differentiation."

— Chief Executive Officer

Organizational Impact

The program demonstrated that innovation is not accidental — it's engineered through structure, discipline, and leadership commitment. By combining grassroots ideation with executive governance, we created a sustainable innovation engine that balances creativity with commercial rigor.

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