Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a $1.5 million grant to the Ben Franklin TechVentures (BFTV) technology incubator/post-incubator facility.
The grant will be used to fund a 14,500-square-foot expansion that will include “business incubation, office, and meeting space to attract early-stage technology-oriented companies to the commonwealth,” stated the press release.
“TechVentures has been a model for how business incubators can grow and nurture companies from founding to expansion, creating jobs and important intellectual properties along the way,” Wolf said. “This expansion will help up to 20 new companies take advantage of the incubation services offered here, and it will support the creation of almost 40 new jobs. This is exactly the type of project the commonwealth should be investing in.”
Specifically, the expansion will support start-ups and entrepreneurs and create 39 new technology-based jobs in the first five years.
“The TechVentures West Wing addition will allow Ben Franklin to build on its history as a ‘job creation factory’ by accommodating accelerating needs for the incubator space that fuels economic growth,” said Chad Paul, president and CEO of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP).
The West Wing will create high-value technology-based jobs in 21 counties.
“Investing in incubator and post-incubator space like this is one of the best ways the commonwealth can partner with the private sector to encourage entrepreneurship and lay the groundwork for building a better tomorrow,” State Sen. Lisa Boscola said.
