Personae, a welfare accelerator run by EU|BIC a|cube in Italy, has been named winner of the 2026 EU|BIC Excellence Award: The Human Factor, chosen by audience vote at EBN Congress 2026 in Trentino. Now in its third edition, the award set out to answer a pointed question for Europe’s business innovation centres: what does it actually mean to build a support programme that puts people at the centre by design, rather than simply stating it as a mission?
The response from the EU|BIC community was strong, producing five finalists from five different countries, each working with a distinct population and taking its own approach to human-centred innovation. All five pitched live on stage in Trentino, competing for the audience’s vote.
Personae ultimately won the room. The programme is the welfare accelerator of the CDP National Network, an initiative of CDP Venture Capital SGR developed jointly by a|cube and SocialFare. Run over four months, it drew 511 applications from welfare-focused startups, offering successful ventures up to €150,000 in funding alongside a Theory of Change tracked from day one. The initiative speaks directly to mounting pressure on welfare systems across Europe, where ageing populations, new forms of vulnerability, shifting family structures, and rising demand linked to mental health and work-life balance are straining public provision.
The other finalists showcased just how varied “human-centred” innovation support can look in practice. CEEI Burgos in Spain built a rural business model on trust rather than collateral, sustaining 536 jobs across 132 localities since 2013. Instituto Pedro Nunes in Portugal developed the country’s first incubator built specifically for people over 50 re-entering entrepreneurship. MSIC in Ostrava, Czechia, created a free, bilingual one-stop-shop to help international talent and their families settle, work, and start businesses locally. And the University of Warwick Science Park in the UK put forward a programme embedding human oversight and accountability directly into responsible AI practice.
As this year’s winner, Personae will be featured in EBN’s next community publication, and a|cube has earned a free ticket to next year’s edition of the congress. EBN Congress 2027 will take place in Portugal from 23–25 June 2027, co-organised with Instituto Pedro Nunes and Startup Leiria.
🔗 Source: EBN | EU|BIC Innovation Community