PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- This fall, The Enterprise Center and the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Center (PAMBDC) are launching the Minority Technology Initiative (MTI). Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) along with Innovation Philadelphia will help with the initiative's kick-off with a three event fall lunch series on technology commercialization. The events will be held at The Enterprise Center, 4548 Market St., Philadelphia, during the months of September and October and will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The MTI is expected to increase access of high-growth minority business enterprises to new product and service opportunities in the field of advanced technology. This effort will connect minority business enterprises to technology transfer offices of local universities and national labs, in order to begin to expose CEOs of minority-owned companies to technology licensing opportunities, as well as make them aware of federal programs to finance technology commercialization. The initiative seeks to connect these entrepreneurs with other sources of funding for the development and marketing of innovative, technology-based services.
This three-part series is for entrepreneurs seeking to learn how to grow and expand their company into the area of technology, form relationships with technology transfer offices, as well as learn how to access federal grant funding for research:
Event 1: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 -- Technology Commercialization: What is it and how can my company get involved?
Event 2: Tuesday, October 4, 2005 -- Patents on the Shelf: Showcasing specific licensing opportunities from local universities
Event 3: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 -- Financing Tech Transfer: Getting the funding you need to help commercialize technology
BFTP/SEP is pleased to be a supporting partner in the launch of the MTI, more notably since its initiative, the Minority Angel Investor Network (MAIN) has very similar goals. MAIN, a diversity-focused initiative of BFTP/SEP and its Minority Technology Advisory Board, was launched in 2004 to increase the number of minority-owned technology companies in Ben Franklin's investment portfolio. MAIN has distinguished itself as the first and only organized network of angel investors in the U.S. focused on investing in high growth minority companies. The network has recruited nearly a dozen accredited angel investors since its inception in 2004.
"We are happy to support the launch of MTI, as it complements the primary objectives of BFTP/SEP and MAIN -- to ensure diversity in the technology marketplace," says MAIN co-founder and Vice-President for the Investment Group at BFTP/SEP, Terrence Hicks.
For more information or to register for these events, please visit: http://www.pambdc.com/mti/rsvp.php
About Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Since 1982, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/SEP) has helped grow the region through science, technology and entrepreneurship. Part of a statewide network in Pennsylvania, BFTP/SEP provides entrepreneurs and established businesses the capital, talent, and expertise they need to compete in the global marketplace. The organization has provided more than $110 million to over 1,400 regional enterprises through various funding means. BFTP/SEP is a founding partner of the Nanotechnology Institute (NTI) and the Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Alliance (MANA) and is funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development.
About Minority Technology Initiative
The Minority Technology Initiative (MTI) is a joint effort of The Enterprise Center and Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Center (PAMBDC). MTI was created to increase access of high-growth minority business enterprises (MBEs) to new product and service opportunities in the field of advanced technology. This effort will connect MBEs to technology transfer offices of local universities and national labs in order to begin to expose CEOs of these companies to technology licensing opportunities, make them aware of federal programs to finance technology commercialization (SBIRs, STTR, ATP), and to connect them with other sources of funding for the development and marketing of innovative, technology-based services. The MTI will also focus on increasing access of MBEs to opportunities generated by the burgeoning life sciences cluster of biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the Greater Philadelphia region. The goal of MTI is to see a notable increase in the amount of SBIRs awarded to MBEs in the Greater Philadelphia region, and the development of companies that tap into the extensive opportunities being created by the life sciences boom in the region.