The HUCO Labs project took centre stage at the European Entrepreneurs Creative Days 2026, held in Lisbon from 23–25 September, as members and partners convened for three days of debate on strengthening innovation in SME and Mid-Caps.
The highlight came on 25 September with the official launch of the confederation-wide “Incremental Innovation” initiative. In a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony, European Entrepreneurs and partners committed to a joint movement, explicitly building on the HUCO Labs project, whose partners were among the invited guests.
The partnership officially signed a declaration of intent to launch the Lisbon Manifesto for Better, Faster and More Valuable Incremental Innovation in, by and with European SME and Mid-Caps, signed by CEA-PME President Christoph Ahlhaus, Co-President Jorge Portugal and EURASHE Secretary General John Edwards. The Manifesto argues that Europe’s competitiveness depends not only on breakthroughs, but on daily improvements in its 25 million SME and Mid-Caps, and it cites the HUCO Labs experience — particularly in training “innovation technicians” — as particularly encouraging.