One of the largest incubator networks in the United states is now bigger.

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP-NEP) expanded its Ben Franklin Business Incubator Network to include Jump Start Incubator, Reading; Allan P. Kirby Enterprise Center at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre; The Stourbridge Incubator, Honesdale, and The TekRidge Center, Jessup.

Business incubation supports to entrepreneurs and early-stage firms and is often pivotal to their survival and prosperity.

With 33 years owning and managing its own incubator, BFTP-NEP is a pioneers of business incubation in the U.S. Ben Franklin’s Ben Franklin TechVentures received the National Business Incubator Association Incubator of the Year Award on two occasions.

The incubator network is an important element in BFTP-NEP’s strategy for developing the technology infrastructure in its 21-county northeastern Pennsylvania region. Ben Franklin staff meet with incubator network managers annually to exchange ideas and information, work collaboratively, and provide guidelines and training that are in accordance with National Business Incubation Association standards.

The reduced operating costs of starting a company in a business incubator are typically what initially draw early-stage companies to an incubator facility. But the business development assistance and sharing of best practices among tenants are often even more important.

BFTP-NEP owns and manages both Ben Franklin TechVentures and the Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center. Members of the newly expanded Ben Franklin Business Incubator Network are:

AEDC Bridgeworks Enterprise Center, Allentown; Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem; The Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center, Bloomsburg; Carbondale Technology Transfer Center, Carbondale;

Also, East Stroudsburg University Innovation Center, East Stroudsburg; The Enterprise Center, Sayre; The Greater Hazleton CAN BE, West Hazleton; The Innovation Center at Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre, and

Jump Start Incubator, Reading; Allan P. Kirby Enterprise Center at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre; Pottsville-Schuylkill Technology Incubator, Pottsville, The Scranton Enterprise Center, Scranton; The Stourbridge Incubator, Honesdale, and The TekRidge Center, Jessup.

BFTP-NEP is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.