HARRISBURG, Pa. (May 21, 2024) --- With the administration and General Assembly considering the potential for new economic development programs, Ben Franklin Technology Partners remains the state’s most prized high-tech investment model, demonstrating real results year after year through investments in emerging high-growth enterprises that help to power Pennsylvania’s economy and attract the best and brightest to our commonwealth.
According to the newly released “2023 Annual Statewide Impact Report,” Ben Franklin clients generated $2.8 billion in revenue and secured $1.2 billion in post-Ben Franklin financing. The tech-based economic development program also supported 1,827 companies and helped clients create 2,493 jobs while retaining 10,588 more positions.
When it comes to innovation and bringing ideas to market, Ben Franklin clients continue to foster these entrepreneurial efforts, developing 189 patents and software copyrights, commercializing 257 new products and launching 103 new processes.
“Ben Franklin has been a leader in nurturing the state’s high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystem and fostering sustained economic growth for decades,” said Ryan E. Glenn, Ben Franklin’s Director of Statewide Initiatives. “We’re immensely proud of this track record. The numbers say it all. We recognize that our success is the commonwealth’s success, and we’re eager to build on these accomplishments to ensure Pennsylvania remains a hub for innovation.”
What makes Ben Franklin so unique is how it continuously evolves, grows its networks and partnerships, and adapts its programs to expand its reach to ensure every commonwealth resident benefits. Not a single county is untouched by Ben Franklin’s impact.
Partnerships are important — and Ben Franklin leverages the excellence of Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities and brings together companies, academia, private investors, and government to build and develop technology-based industries. Ben Franklin is at the center of and intricately connected to every regional technology and innovation ecosystem across the state.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration, in launching and advocating for his 10-year economic development plan, have visited and held events at four successful Ben Franklin-backed client sites: OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem, where the governor unveiled his plan; Gilson Snow in Selinsgrove; Gecko Robotics in Pittsburgh; and Burro Robotics in Philadelphia.
“You can’t talk about innovation in Pennsylvania without talking about Ben Franklin,” Glenn said. “We’re proud of the work we do, the investments we make, the success our clients achieve and the benefits they bring to our commonwealth.”
Since its inception more than 40 years ago, Ben Franklin has boosted the state economy by more than $30 billion, generating more than 58,000 jobs in client firms, plus an additional 101,000 spinoff positions, for a total of 159,000 new jobs that otherwise would never have existed. According to independent analyses, every dollar invested by the commonwealth into Ben Franklin generates $4 in additional state taxes.
Ben Franklin serves all 67 counties through four regionally based centers in Pittsburgh, State College, Bethlehem, and Philadelphia, with several satellite offices spread across the entire commonwealth.
For more information, or for a full copy of the report, visit: https://www.benfranklinimpact.com/.
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