UNL Study Shows Success of Business Innovation Programs in Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Supporting Job Creation

For stories of Nebraska startups who’ve benefited from the Business Innovation Act, click here.

A new study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Bureau of Business Research confirms the strong—and rising—return on investment from the State’s Business Innovation Act (BIA) programs.

The report examined the overall economic impact BIA programs have had by empowering early-stage entrepreneurial ventures. BIA funds have generated $11.52 of private capital investment for every $1 awarded. Businesses participating in BIA programs have generated $15.90 of revenue per dollar of State investment. According to the UNL report, “these ratios are considerably larger than reported in earlier studies and represent the ability of Nebraska businesses to leverage BIA funding and generate revenue.”

“Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is thriving, and the Business Innovation Act has been pivotal to its growth,” said K.C Belitz, Director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED). “BIA programs infuse much-needed capital into promising young companies to help them take flight. In turn, these businesses are multiplying the state’s investment more than tenfold, while creating thousands of high-tech, high-wage career opportunities in our state.”

The Business Innovation Act (2011) authorized a suite of grant and investment programs for Nebraska-based startups and small businesses. These programs are administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, with support from Invest Nebraska. BIA programs assist with product development (Prototype Grants), university research or university tech transfer (Academic R&D Grants), applying for federal Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer programs (SBIR/STTR Matching Grants), and access to capital via equity investment (the Seed Investment Program). Descriptions, guidelines, and application links for the BIA programs are available on the DED website: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/bia/.

Every two years, DED surveys businesses participating in the Business Innovation Act programs. The agency contracts with the UNL Bureau of Business Research to compile survey data and evaluate the effectiveness of BIA programs. Per the recent UNL report, businesses taking part in the State’s BIA programs have added 2,386 new jobs and created more than $182.5 million in annual wages since the inception of BIA programs. In 2024, BIA-supported businesses had a combined economic impact of nearly $1.2 billion annually, contributing more than $27.0 million of taxes to state and local governments each year.

In 2011—when the Business Innovation Act became law—only 13 individual venture capital deals took place in Nebraska, totaling $11 million of capital raised. Over the past three years of available data (2021 through 2023), the state has averaged more than 60 venture capital deals each year and more than $330 million of yearly venture capital raised. The full report—2024 Update: The Annual Economic Impact of Businesses Supported by Nebraska Business Innovation Act Programs—is available at https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-BIA-Impact-Analysis.pdf.

“The Business Innovation Act has dramatically increased Nebraska’s competitiveness with other states in entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Dan Hoffman, CEO of Invest Nebraska. “From ag tech to the biosciences, BIA programs have helped Nebraska develop a culture that’s highly conducive to startup success. As the UNL report confirms, we’re seeing the exponential growth of young, technology-based companies—both in terms of creating jobs and attracting private capital from outside Nebraska.”

For questions related to the State of Nebraska’s BIA programs, please email DED Director of Business Development & Programs Joe Fox at joe.fox@nebraska.gov or DED Business Innovation Manager Ben Kuspa at ben.kuspa@nebraska.gov.

To read about Nebraska startups who’ve grown with BIA support, follow this link: https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/business-innovation-programs-help-entrepreneurs-turn-promising-ideas-into-market-ready-products/.