What if the next billion-dollar startup didn’t come from a garage—but from inside your own company’s Global Capability Center?
Over the past decade, the role of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) has evolved far beyond operational efficiency and cost arbitrage. Today, GCCs are rapidly transforming into hubs of corporate entrepreneurship, driving innovation, agility, and business value for global corporations. As organizations face increasing disruption, the ability to harness the entrepreneurial spirit within their own walls is becoming a critical differentiator.
This article explores seven powerful ways in which GCCs are embracing corporate entrepreneurship—not as an abstract concept, but as a structured, measurable engine of value creation and competitive edge.
One of the most visible signs of corporate entrepreneurship in GCCs is the rise of dedicated innovation labs and centres of excellence. These spaces serve as incubators for ideas, testing grounds for prototypes, and accelerators for scaling solutions that solve real business problems.
In contrast to traditional business units, these innovation hubs are empowered with autonomy, budgets, and cross-functional talent—enabling them to move fast and take calculated risks. For example, many banking GCCs now run FinTech-style innovation programs entirely in-house, leading to new products, features, and customer experiences.
According to a KPMG report, 72 percent of GCC leaders now identify talent management and innovation capability as top priorities—signaling a clear shift toward value creation and entrepreneurship at the core of GCC operations.
True corporate entrepreneurship thrives when employees are encouraged to think and act like entrepreneurs within the enterprise. Leading GCCs foster a culture where individuals are rewarded not just for execution, but for ideation, experimentation, and value delivery.
This includes creating “idea marketplaces,” hackathons, and intrapreneurship tracks where employees can pitch, prototype, and scale new initiatives. Many GCCs also align KPIs with innovation outcomes, so the entrepreneurial mindset becomes embedded in daily operations.
It’s no surprise that Talent Solutions providers are increasingly focusing on nurturing entrepreneurial leadership skills in GCC hiring and training programs—highlighting the shift from task executors to value creators.
The Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, once used purely for operational offshoring, is now being strategically deployed by global corporations to seed entrepreneurial ventures in new markets.
By using a BOT approach, companies can incubate new business lines, digital services, or customer solutions through their GCCs—without upfront risk. Once the operation matures and proves value, it can be transferred in-house or spun off into a new business vertical.
This BOT-fueled corporate entrepreneurship enables rapid experimentation in emerging markets while still staying aligned with the parent company’s strategic vision.
Modern GCCs are no longer just support functions; they are becoming product and platform powerhouses. From AI-driven chatbots and logistics platforms to industry-specific SaaS tools, GCCs are building full-fledged, market-ready solutions for internal and external use.
This in-house product incubation is a hallmark of corporate entrepreneurship, as it allows enterprises to compete with startups using their own resources and talent.
Moreover, by aligning these innovation efforts with customer pain points and commercial outcomes, GCCs contribute directly to revenue and market differentiation—transforming from cost centers to global business services engines.
To fuel this wave of corporate entrepreneurship, organizations need teams that are agile, creative, and deeply aligned with the entrepreneurial mission. Traditional hiring models often fall short.
Enter AI recruitment tools—which are helping GCCs make faster, more accurate, and bias-free hiring decisions for entrepreneurial talent. These tools assess not only skills, but also mindset, cultural fit, and innovation potential.
By leveraging AI in recruitment, GCCs can ensure they are building teams that can execute on bold ideas, adapt quickly to change, and sustain a culture of continuous innovation.
One of the most effective models of corporate entrepreneurship seen in GCCs is the creation of “startup pods.” These are agile, cross-functional teams given end-to-end ownership of a new initiative—be it a digital platform, customer solution, or internal transformation project.
Unlike traditional departments, these pods operate with startup-style autonomy, using design thinking, lean experimentation, and rapid feedback loops.
The GCC provides the talent, infrastructure, and local insight to power these pods, while the parent company provides strategic direction and market access. This integrated model ensures that entrepreneurship doesn’t happen in isolation but is embedded within the enterprise DNA.
In fact, according to a Deloitte report, about 40% of India’s 1,400+ GCCs are now focused on R&D rather than just transactional work—illustrating a growing shift toward innovation and value creation over traditional cost-based operations. Startup pods are a natural outcome of this evolution, offering a structured yet flexible framework to launch and scale new ideas rapidly within the enterprise.
With their on-ground presence, local partnerships, and cultural understanding, GCCs serve as ideal launchpads for exploring new markets, customer segments, and business models.
Many global corporations are now relying on their India, Poland, or Philippines-based GCCs to pilot new business strategies, digital channels, or service offerings tailored for emerging markets.
This localization capability—combined with global alignment—is a unique form of corporate entrepreneurship. It allows enterprises to unlock new revenue streams, learn from diverse markets, and apply those learnings back into their core business.
In this way, GCCs are not just “offshore arms”—they are becoming the entrepreneurial sensors and pilots for global corporations looking to stay relevant and competitive.
The traditional model of “run-the-business” GCCs is rapidly becoming obsolete. Today’s global environment demands that organizations move fast, adapt constantly, and innovate from within. That’s exactly what corporate entrepreneurship empowers them to do.
GCCs that embrace this shift are positioning themselves not as back-end processors, but as strategic partners and centres of excellence in innovation. They’re not just supporting the business—they’re helping to build the future of it.
This transition also makes business sense. With access to high-quality talent, lower costs, and local innovation ecosystems, GCCs offer the perfect ground to scale GCC solutions with speed and agility.
From product incubation and startup pods to innovation labs and BOT ventures, corporate entrepreneurship is reshaping how we think about the role of GCCs in the modern enterprise.
These centers are no longer passive executors—they are proactive, empowered, and entrepreneurial hubs driving global business transformation.
And for forward-thinking organizations, the message is clear: your GCC can either be a cost center or a centre of excellence for growth and innovation. The choice lies in how deeply you embed corporate entrepreneurship into its DNA.
At Anlage, we specialize in enabling this transformation. From setting up your GCC through our Build-Operate-Transfer model to scaling it with cutting-edge Talent Solutions, innovation pods, and AI-powered hiring, we offer comprehensive GCC solutions designed to accelerate growth, efficiency, and innovation.
Ready to turn your GCC into a hub for corporate entrepreneurship? Contact us today to explore how Anlage can help you build a future-ready, innovation-driven global capability center.
1. What is corporate entrepreneurship in GCCs?
Corporate entrepreneurship in GCCs refers to fostering innovation, agility, and new business creation within a
company’s Global Capability Center. It transforms the GCC into a hub for idea generation, product development,
and market expansion.
2. How do GCCs support corporate entrepreneurship?
GCCs support corporate entrepreneurship by building innovation labs, incubating products, forming startup
pods, and using AI tools to hire entrepreneurial talent.
3. What is a startup pod in a GCC?
A startup pod is a cross-functional, agile team within a GCC that operates like a startup to launch new
products or solutions with speed, autonomy, and innovation.
4. What is the Build-Operate-Transfer model for GCCs?
The Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model allows companies to set up GCCs, operate them with external support,
and then take full ownership once they're mature and efficient.
5. Why should companies invest in corporate entrepreneurship?
Investing in corporate entrepreneurship helps companies innovate faster, adapt to market changes, drive new
revenue, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving world.
Gaurav Chawla, COO of Anlage Infotech, emphasized the transformative role of AI-powered analytics in HR at the 5th Edition of the GCC Summit 2024. Highlighting predictive analysis and smart tool utilization, he shared how these technologies can cut hiring cycle times by up to 60%, driving greater efficiency. The event took place at GMR Aerocity Hyderabad.
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