The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP-NEP) has reported that 1,189 northeastern Pennsylvania jobs were created or retained as a result of its work in 2014, creating a cumulative total of 39,558 job creations or retentions since the program's inception in 1983.

Client companies raised an additional $67.3 million in follow-on funding from angel investors, venture capitalists and other investors in 2014 for a total of $1.357 billion 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 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 high-paying, sustainable jobs in growing technology sectors is a proven way to build a region's economy," said R. Chadwick Paul, Jr., President and CEO of BFTP-NEP. "Our investments and support have accelerated the success of start-up technology firms and have helped established manufacturers to apply technology to increase their competitiveness."

In 2014, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania reported the following results:

Created 386 new jobs;

Retained 803 existing jobs;

Started 12 new companies, and

Developed 77 new products and processes.

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania was established in 1983, and has achieved the following cumulative results:

Created 16,600 new jobs;

Retained 22,958 existing jobs;

Started 470 new companies, and

Developed 1,356 new products and processes.

In 2014, BFTP-NEP assisted 290 companies. Since 2007, the organization has assisted 2,175 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.

Since 1989, Ben Franklin statewide 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 percent more than the average non-farm wage in Pennsylvania.

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 members of the BFTP-NEP-led Ben Franklin Business Incubator Network.