Ben Franklin News
In 2020, 6,467 northeastern Pennsylvania jobs were created or retained as a result of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s (BFTP/NEP) work. BFTP/NEP generated cumulative impacts of 69,604 job creations or retentions since the program’s inception in 1983.
“It is especially impressive that these strong northeastern Pennsylvania job impacts were generated during the pandemic,” said Angelo Valletta, President of BFTP/NEP. “I commend and congratulate our clients, a number of which are developing products and services that directly address the challenges caused by the coronavirus. All of our clients are working to create and retain good jobs that will propel us to economic recovery.”
According to an independent study conducted by the Pennsylvania Economy League, Pennsylvania’s investment in Ben Franklin statewide represents a $3.90 payback to the state treasury for every dollar invested. The jobs created by Ben Franklin clients are in industries that pay 52% more than the average Pennsylvania non-farm wage.
Client companies raised an additional $55.44 million in follow-on funding from angel investors, venture capitalists, and other investors in 2020, for a total of $1.656 billion in follow-on investment received since 2007. These results were accomplished in BFTP/NEP’s 21-county service area, including Berks, Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.
BFTP client companies submit statistics on created and retained jobs, new product and process developments, and follow-on funding to BFTP/NEP each year. Ben Franklin reports its annual impacts to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which funds the statewide Ben Franklin program.
In his 2020-21 General Fund budget, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a $5 million increase for the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA), which funds the statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners initiative. The budget reverted to the prior year’s funding level due to the impact of the pandemic.
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania links clients with universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. BFTP/NEP’s strategy encompasses three key areas:
- developing and growing early-stage technology-oriented companies;
- supporting established manufacturers as they creatively apply new technology to help them succeed globally by producing better, faster, and at a lower cost;
- promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that supports Pennsylvania’s business technology ecosystem.
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative. BFTP/NEP is headquartered in, owns, and manages Ben Franklin TechVentures®, an award-winning technology business incubator/post-incubator facility on Lehigh University’s Mountaintop Campus in Bethlehem. BFTP/NEP also owns and manages the Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center. Both incubators are members of the BFTP/NEP-led, 13-member Ben Franklin Business Incubator Network. This network is among the largest in the United States.
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania reported the following 2020 results:
- Created 483 New Jobs
- Retained 5,984 Existing Jobs
- Started 6 New Companies
- Developed 183 New Products and Processes
BFTP/NEP was established in 1983 and has achieved the following cumulative results:
- Created 19,740 New Jobs
- Retained 49,864 Existing Jobs
- Started 531 New Companies
- Developed 2,296 New Products and Processes
In 2020, BFTP/NEP assisted 327 companies. Since 2007, the organization has supported 4,113 client firms.
Via LVEDC Investors’ Edge
