Building Bonds, Connecting Innovation
Europe’s leading innovation partner network, fast-tracking your connectivity and certifying your value
We believe that, in a world seeking to solve our global challenges, innovative entrepreneurs are the force for sustainable, economic development and greater wellbeing in our local regions.
Becoming a certified EU|BIC or joining the community as an Associate Member means responding to our mission 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 best advantageous to their client companies and best advantageous to their regions.
There are now more than 110 Certified EU|BICs and over 60 Associate members shaping our global community.
EBN (European Business and Innovation Centre Network) is the non-profit that facilitates this pan-European, global community of people using innovative business as a driver for regional (economic, sustainable, and social) development. EBN grants and manages the EU|BIC certification and many other innovation solutions for excellent business support actors like the EU|BICs.
© European Union, 2022
EU | BIC community
175+
members
Operating in over 35 countries, covering the full spectrum of innovation sectors, and collaborating for continuous improvement and increased impact.
630+
business experts & partners
Committed to the development and growth of entrepreneurial innovators, providing high-quality services to startups, spin-offs and SMEs.
36,000+
startups
Receive support from our members. Benefiting from expertise and programmes critical to their growth.
1
official certificate
Uniquely granted by EBN to mission-aligned organisations as the only certification of quality for business support organisations originated by the European Commission.
Build New Relationships
Fast-track your connectivity. When your organisation certifies as an EU|BIC you join a powerful community of business leaders, support practitioners and innovation partners expanding your reach within your local and international innovation ecosystems.
Improve Your Results
Getting certified and taking the yearly assessment is a powerful mechanism to help your company set goals for improvement, deliver more value to your clients and your ecosystem, and track performance over time. Members gain access to training, peers, technical assistance and funding opportunities.
Engage Trusted Partners
More than ever, people want to do engage with people and organisations they trust. The EU|BIC Certification and its trusted community are among the smartest ways to attract best-of-class clients, investment partners and to participate in revenue-generating projects that help you deliver on your mission.
Amplify Your Voice
The EU|BIC label communicates that your organisation is a verified business innovation leader when it comes to delivering quality business support and empowering entrepreneurial innovators. The third-party validation helps your organisation to stand out, and stand by your mission.
Smart solutions for all your innovation needs
News & events
Jul
14
2025
Through a distinctive place-based approach and a proven track record — including an 83% start-up survival rate — EBN calls for greater recognition of quality-certified support organisations (ESOs), more effective funding, and simplified regulation to position Europe as a global leader in innovation by 2030.
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Jul
14
2025
Our 2025 EU|BIC Impact Report reflects a community driving systemic change. The impact speaks for itself: over 29,000 supported, 9,000+ jobs created, €900 million in funding raised, and a 3-year startup survival rate of 84.5%
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Jul
10
2025
The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator launched Call #4, from 1 July to 31 October 2025, inviting corporate-startup partnerships from the EU, Latin America, and the Caribbean to join. The call focuses on digital innovation, particularly in e-services, but is open to all industries.
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Jul
03
2025
ID2Green helps SMEs and start-ups in Walloon Brabant, Belgium, to adopt eco-responsible practices and turn sustainability into a genuine driver of growth. Since 2021, it has created a vibrant ecosystem, pooling resources, offering themed events, collective workshops, and personalised coaching.
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Jun
26
2025
EBN and Trentino Sviluppo are proud to announce that in 2026, EBN Congress will go to Trentino, Italy. Hosted in both Rovereto and Riva del Garda (by the Garda Lake), the 2026 Congress will focus on Human-Centred Innovation.
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Jun
25
2025
The PhotonHub coordination meeting, held during the EBN Congress 2025 in Barakaldo (Bilbao), brought together EU|BIC partners from Spain, France, and Ireland to align efforts on delivering high-impact business mentoring to photonics entrepreneurs across Europe.
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Jun
10
2025
Under Lebanon Innovate, a European Union funded project to revitalize the Lebanese entrepreneurial ecosystem and its productive sectors, EBN is seeking external experts to design and implement an advanced capacity-building programme on legal expertise and requirements in IPR for Lebanese lawyers foreseen for the first half of 2025.
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The pan-European EU|BIC business innovation community and the Certified EU|BIC quality label were designed as pioneering models for economic growth, facilitated by the EBN Secretariat. Throughout the pandemic, we have witnessed how the model of supporting entrepreneurial innovation continues to be the accelerator for recovery and a solution-driver for global challenges.
Our members, who we serve via the EU|BIC community, partners and the EBN team remain committed to co-design our desired future supported by innovation: creating greater wellbeing to European citizens – and beyond.
Our members, who we serve via the EU|BIC community, partners and the EBN team remain committed to co-design our desired future supported by innovation: creating greater wellbeing to European citizens – and beyond.
EU|BIC quality certification label
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best-practices
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Skills
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building training
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