AFP Siembra: Alcanza and SILAB

At a glance

• Sector: Pension and savings, regulated
• Focus: Digital savings product and an internal innovation lab
• Approach: Evidence first, gates and cadence, security and compliance
• Result: App launch and a repeatable innovation engine

Context

AFP Siembra is a specialized pension fund administrator, AFP, and the first in the Dominican Republic authorized by the Superintendencia de Pensiones, SIPEN. The team set out to launch Alcanza, a digital savings solution for Dominicans, salaried and independent, living in the country and abroad, who need a safe, flexible way to save for retirement, housing, education, and other goals.

The challenge was low national savings rates, high trust requirements, and a regulated, security firstenvironment. In parallel, leadership wanted a repeatable innovation engine inside the organization, which became SILAB.

What we did

• Baseline and direction: Ran an initial assessment, ClarityScan, to determine the current state of the innovation process, surface risks, align stakeholders, and sequence the work. Used MicroCanvas to frame problems, understand the customer, define value propositions, set objectives and key results, and select the metrics to measure progress. We also worked with the innovation team to identify issues that were slowing projects and to unblock them.
• Evidence first: Ran side by side interview tests and concierge trials with employees and customers to test profiles, onboarding friction, benefits, cost sensitivity, problem and solution fit, and market and product fit.
• Product scope: Defined the MVP for Alcanza, a 100 percent digital app at launch. Key features were personalized goals, close guidance, goal rewards, strong security, retirement flexibility, and no fees or minimum balances.
• Delivery system: Established a cadence, decision gates, and a lab playbook. Co authored SILAB’s charter, mandate, intake, funding gates, and a governance model to make delivery repeatable.
  • Gate 1: Go or No Go after discovery, based on evidence packs.
  • Gate 2: Go or No Go before scale, based on adoption and risk.

  SILAB’s value: faster decisions, clearer gates, higher hit rate.

  Artifacts: lab charter, gate checklist, RACI, evidence pack template, weekly cadence.

• Innovation lab and launch: Starting in October 2023, we conceptualized the SIEMBRA Innovation Lab, using learnings and outcomes from the Alcanza project to design an internal innovation capability. In parallel, we helped design and produce the lab’s public launch during the inaugural AFP Siembra FutureScapes Innovation Summit, a two day event with more than 300 participants.
• Security and compliance: Worked within the Dominican financial sector’s cybersecurity regulations. Defined security requirements and testing as first class work.

See our open templates in Research and Resources.

Timeline

• Kick off: January 2021
• Discovery and experiments: 2021 to 2022
• Build and hardening: 2023 to 2024
• Full production launch: November 2024, digital app

Outcomes

• Launched the Alcanza digital savings app with 100 percent digital onboarding.
• Installed SILAB governance and a cadence with gate reviews.
• Captured decisions as evidence packs to improve alignment.

Tracked metrics: decision latency, cycle time, onboarding conversion, and capability growth.

See the case diagrams below for the system flow and capability progression.

Why it mattered

• Turned strategy into execution with a repeatable engine for innovation, SILAB.
• Reduced decision friction through gate reviews, owners, and evidence packs.
• Built trust and visibility through a public launch and ongoing cadence.

Case diagrams

FutureScapes Summit, livestreams