La Victoria Lab

Intercorp is one of Peru's largest conglomerates, encompassing over 35 businesses across diverse sectors such as banking, education, healthcare, retail, and real estate, employing over 80,000 individuals. Within this framework, La Victoria functions as Intercorp's innovation lab, initially inspired by IDEO's collaborative design philosophy. Established in 2014, the lab began by supporting Intercorp's various business ventures through product and service innovations. However, its role evolved, becoming a platform for impactful journeys from pipeline discovery to implementation, no longer just responding to business briefs but fostering a culture of design thinking and prototyping across Intercorp, significantly contributing to the conglomerate's digital transformation efforts.

La Victoria faces several challenges. First, there's the question of its evolving mission. Should the lab maintain its adaptive approach or develop more specialized expertise? Some argue for a focus on resolving short-term business challenges, while others advocate exploring beyond mainstream projects. Additionally, the lab grapples with how to demonstrate its value to Intercorp's holding company amid its free-funded model. Encouraging business leaders to adopt a forward-thinking, user-centered approach remains crucial, but there's a tension between creative exploration and practical implementation needs. Lastly, balancing resource allocation and project prioritization, especially when identifying and developing promising ventures, poses an ongoing strategic dilemma.