Recommendations on the ‘Social Economy Action Plan’

Introduction

Since its foundation, EBN and its pan-European and global network of over 175 EU|BICs have blended economic dynamism with social impact, supporting thousands of entrepreneurs across Europe and beyond.

We welcome the Commission’s mid-term review of the Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP) and appreciate the opportunity to share insights drawn from our members’ hands-on experiences. As the Action Plan transitions from its first phase (2021–2025) towards the next cycle (2026–2030), EBN stands ready to enhance its collaboration with DG EMPL and other key partners to accelerate innovation with measurable social impact.

Our response is structured around four strategic pillars – rooted in the Better Incubation (“liaise”) pilot and shaped by the expertise of the EU|BIC community – and directly addresses the five consultation questions with concrete feedback from our members.

EBN’s strategic pillars for scalling the social economy

Leveraging EU|BIC and Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) as regional enablers.

EU|BICs are embedded innovation and business support organisations with a demonstrable regional footprint. We advocate for the formal recognition of ESOs as SEAP’s “territorial enablers”, ensuring they are involved in co-designing initiatives on finance, public procurement, and green/digital transitions.

Scaling Better incubation into a “Tech for Good” ecosystem

Building on the 2021-22 pilot, we propose regional and cross-border capacity-building for social entrepreneurs, embedding “Tech for Good” pathways within European Digital Innovation Hubs, and fostering open-innovation challenge formats that link social innovation with advanced technologies.

Strengthening structural and financial support.

To move beyond ad-hoc pilots, we call for dedicated EU funding lines for ESOs to integrate inclusive incubation as a core service, a “Social Impact Centre Alliance” pairing incubators with living labs and procurers, and blended finance instruments that de-risk private capital for social enterprises in lower-innovation regions.

Promoting a culture of social innovation and visibility.

Culture is key. We recommend EU-wide campaigns co-branded by the Commission and EU|BICs, Erasmus-style exchanges with embedded social-innovation modules, and a central repository of best practices disseminated through our members’ community’s, 9000 + events aimed at stimulating entrepreneurial cultures.

Member feedback on consultation questions

What have been the most significant achievements since 2021?

Maintained a 30-40% share of women entrepreneurs in incubation programmes, piloting collective workshops and one-to-one mentoring that boosted confidence and leadership.
Launched a hybrid incubation for senior and longevity-economy ideas (17 projects), combining webinars, mentoring and high-visibility Demo Day.
Published a mapping of 13 social-innovation ecosystem themes, reframing capacity building as an ongoing, diagnostic process.
Extended an inclusive incubation methodology intro cross-border, impact-driven formats, embedding green/digital “Tech for Good” pathways in Digital Innovation Hubs.

What new developments have you observed?

Women founders consistently prioritise community outcomes over traditional growth indicators.
Hybrid formats have proven equally effective in recruiting and supporting senior entrepreneurs.
Competence Centres are increasingly adopting diagnostic monitoring, while ties between social innovation, energy communities, and digital twin governance are deepening.
There is a consolidation of inclusive incubation toolkits, wider uptake of open-innovation hackathons and stronger cross-DG collaboration, embedding social-impact criteria in digital hubs.

Which sectors could be most effectively supported?

Community-and care-oriented ventures led by women
Senior entrepreneurship and longevity-economy businesses, as well as civic active-ageing initiatives.
Public-sector social innovation; energy communities; alternative food network; rural elderly care; child-health applications; urban digital twins.
Impact-driven green and digital startups; inclusive social enterpises seeking cross-border scaling; ventures leveraging advanced technologies for social good.

What measures should be prioritized for 2026-2030?

Integrate social-return metrics into investment criteria to de-risk social ventures led by underrepresented groups.
Deliver thematic webinar series; provide structured one-to-one mentoring hours per project; organize in-person networking events and hold high-visibility “Graduation Days”.
Establish national Competence Centres with diagnostic governance; expand international webinars on co-design, impact evaluation, digital innovation and financing.
Pilot cross-border exchanges and communities of practice among ESOs, impact inverstors and policymakers to develop blended-finance instruments.

Are there specific initiatives or best practices to replicate?

Providing on-site childcare during workshops to remove attendance barriers for parents.
Organising public Demo Days pitches with regional stakeholders to maximise visibility and feedback.
Adopting diagnostic-focused monitoring framework for Competence Centres, treating setbacks as learning and co-programming opportunities.
Running open-innovation challenges prizes and hackathons that link social innovators with advanced-technology providers, and creating cross-sector living labs pairing incubators, procurers and research institutions.

Key hurdles and proposed actions.

Across the EU|BIC community of ESOs, four cross-cutting hurdles impede further scaling:

Uneven tailored support for under-represented groups (women juggling care duties; seniors facing digital and mobility barriers)
Compliance-driven governance, which treats pilot setbacks as failures rather than interative learning.
Financing gaps, with scarce social-return metrics and risk=sharing instruments deterring impact investors.
Siloed support structures by region and policy DG, limiting cross-border and cross-sector collaboration.

To overcome these challenges, members propose a cohesive and integrated approach that includes embedding social-return indicators into investment criteria, ensuring ongoing support through webinars, structured mentoring and high-visibility Graduation Days, and establishing diagnostic Competence Centres. They also recommend the wider dissemination of effective practices through cross-border exchanges among ESOs, the expansion of Tech for Good pathways, and the use of open innovation formats within Digital Innovation Hubs.

Conclusion and call for transdisciplinary collaboration.

EBN reaffirms its commitment to the social economy’s dual mission of economic growth and societal well-being. Our 175+ EU|BIC community members within and outside of Europe stand ready to multiply the reach and impact of SEAP by operationalizing the four strategic pillars and member-driven actions outlined above.

We call on DG EMPL and other Directorates (notably GROW, REGIO and RTD), as well as relevant stakeholders, to co-create structured collaboration mechanisms. These should formally integrate ESOs into SEAP’s governance, funding, and implementation processes – ensuring a robust ecosystem for the next wave of social-impact innovation across Europe.

Sources and Contact Details

EBN Social Economy Special Interest Group: Chiara Davalli (chiara.davalli@ebn.eu)
Case Studies: Inclusive incubation projects led by EU|BIC Laval Mayenne Technopole (France), EU|BIC Inkubator Sežana (Slovenia), EU|BIC Accent Incubator (Austria), EU|BIC Fundecyt PCTEX (Spain), and Impact Hub (global)
Fator C’Idade: Supporting Senior Entrepreneurship in Coimbra – EU|BIC Instituto Pedro Nunes, IPN Incubadora.
Publication: Verso (Eco) Sistemi di Innovazione Sociale – Un percorso di capacity building (2024), University of Bologna, EU|BIC Associate AR-TER (Italy); SEED Project supported by DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion
Author: EBN – EU Transparency Register: 056070639177 | Bram Pauwels, Chief Strategy Officer (bram.pauwels@ebn.eu)

About EBN and the EU|BIC Community

EBN is a not-for-profit that serves a pan-European, global community of people and entrepreneurship support organisations (ESOs) who use innovative business as a driver for sustainable regional (economic) development/ EBN’s initiatives include EU|BIC certification, development and distribution of quality business support programmes, facilitation and initation of project collaboration, global networking and advocacy for excellence business support actors like the EU|BICs. There are now more than 115 quality-certified EU|BICs and 60+ Associate Mebers shaping our global network.

Becoming an EU|BIC means responding to our mission to use business and innovation as a force for regional sustainable economic development with the best possible actions to create vibrant, thriving startups and SMEs. In other words, EU|BICs take real steps to ensure that their services are most advantageous to their clients and their regions.

Our 2025 EU|BIC Impact Report reflects a community of business and innovation centres (EU|BICs) driving systemic change. The impact we measured among roughly 100 members speaks for itself: over 29,000 startups and scale-ups supported, which created 9,000+ jobs, and raised €900 million funding, and delivered a 3-year startup survival rate of 84.5% – far above the EU average.

The story of our EU|BIC community, comprising over 175 members in 35 countries, is one of transformative innovation, where challenges are turned into opportunities, regional ecosystem gaps are uncovered and interconnected, and regions and cities are reinforced through innovation.

Download the 2025 EU|BIC Impact Report here: https://u197ve6d.sibpages.com/