Ben Franklin News
The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) has reported that 4,052 northeastern Pennsylvania jobs were created or retained as a result of its work in 2016, for a cumulative total of 44,799 job creations or retentions since the program’s inception in 1983. Client companies raised an additional $38 million in follow-on funding from angel investors, venture capitalists, and other investors in 2016, for a total of more than $1.462 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.
Impact results are a summation of the accomplishments of Ben Franklin’s work as reported by client companies. Clients credit the impact figures as having been a direct result of Ben Franklin funding and support. Results are reported by Ben Franklin to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, which funds the statewide Ben Franklin program.
“Creating and retaining technology-based jobs is our primary mission,” said R. Chadwick Paul, Jr., President and CEO of BFTP/NEP. “High-paying, sustainable jobs are the foundation of a strong economy.”
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 early-stage, technology-oriented companies; helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technology and business practices; and promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that supports a favorable business environment for high-growth companies.
The northeastern center 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, 15-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 2016 results:
- Created 429 New Jobs
- Retained 3,623 Existing Jobs
- Started 10 New Companies
- Developed 158 New Products and Processes
BFTP/NEP was established in 1983 and has achieved the following cumulative results:
- Created 17,415 New Jobs
- Retained 27,384 Existing Jobs
- Started 492 New Companies
- Developed 1,591 New Products and Processes
In 2016, BFTP/NEP assisted 303 companies. Since 2007, the organization has assisted a total of 2,768 client firms.
An independent study produced by the Pennsylvania Economy League shows that Pennsylvania’s investment in Ben Franklin Technology Partners statewide from 2007 to 2011 returned $3.60 in new tax revenue for each $1 spent. The study also concluded that, since 1989, Ben Franklin statewide network has created 51,000 additional jobs in client firms and has boosted the Pennsylvania economy by more than $23.5 billion. Jobs created by Ben Franklin’s clients pay 36% more than the average non-farm wage in Pennsylvania.
Coverage via Lehigh Valley Business. http://bit.ly/2okexs9
