Kicking off the Banff World Media Festival yesterday (June 9), the Canadian government unveiled a $2-million fund aimed at supporting women-owned TV businesses.
Announced by parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism Andy Fillmore at the annual festival, the investment will go towards the Banff Television Festival Foundation’s Banff Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media.
The program is aimed at encouraging and training female entrepreneurs to build and grow their businesses within various screen-based industries like production, post-production, visual effects and animation, to name a few. It is expected to serve up to 200 women over the next three years, connecting them with networking, investment matchmaking and mentorship opportunities.
During her opening speech, festival exec director Jenn Kuzmyk (pictured) said the program is designed to fill the gap of female-owned-and-controlled independent Canadian media companies, while helping to advance gender equality and addressing gender-based biases. “Its sole mandate is to advance gender equality in the media sector, bolstering the economic success of all women. Women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities and LGBTQ women,” she said.
The Banff Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media is supported by the government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a $2-billion strategy that aims to double the number of women owned-businesses by 2025.
Image courtesy of by Kristian Bogner