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100 Women Entrepreneurs To Join the BANFF Spark Accelerator

Tuesday, 08 March 2022 11:00 AM

66% of Selected Candidates Self-Identify As Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, LGBTQ2S+, and/or Professionals With Disabilities

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 8, 2022 / The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is pleased to announce the 2022 participants of the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media.

Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture

Supported by the Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, BANFF Spark offers training, mentorship, and access to potential strategic partners to women entrepreneurs in the screen-based media industry.

Selected from hundreds of applications, candidates from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia will participate in a tailored stream of business development programming, receive one-on-one mentorship, and gain exclusive access to top international media industry players at the 2022 Banff World Media Festival.

"Since its inception, the overarching goal of BANFF Spark has been to support the launch and growth of significantly more Canadian women-owned media companies that excel both here at home and on the global stage," said Jenn Kuzmyk, Executive Director of the Banff World Media Festival and VP, Publisher of Playback. "We could not be more proud of what the program has achieved so far. Over the past two years, the women-owned companies which have taken part in BANFF Spark have formed key partnerships, moved projects and business forward in the market, and contributed to the creation of a more fair and equitable media industry. We look forward to building on this success as we welcome 100 new and talented entrepreneurs to the 2022 edition of the program."

"Super Channel continues to be a very proud supporter of this important program that is having a meaningful impact on the careers of so many talented women entrepreneurs in our industry," said Don McDonald, President and CEO, Super Channel. "We congratulate and welcome this next group of deserving participants and look forward to seeing how each benefits from the program's many exciting opportunities."

Over the course of three years, BANFF Spark will support up to 200 entrepreneurs with the goal of advancing gender equality across the media sector. With a strong mandate to champion diversity at its core, the program is especially designed to empower women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ women, and non-binary individuals.

The 100 entrepreneurs selected to take part in the 2022 Cohort of the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media are:

  • Brishkay Ahmed
  • Laura Friedmann
  • Tanya Kelen
  • Tanis Parenteau
  • Sholeh Alemi Fabbri
  • Vesta Giles
  • Leona Krahn
  • Minae Stella Park
  • Maia Jae Bastidas
  • Magali Gillon-Krizaj
  • Catherine Lafferty
  • Shreya Patel
  • Kerry Bellegarde
  • Ruth Goodwin
  • Lindsay Lee
  • Amber-Leigh Polowich
  • Tamara Black
  • Eva Grant
  • Anita Li
  • Darylina Powderface
  • Amy Bohigian
  • Shona Grewar
  • Samantha Little
  • Skye Regan
  • Lynn Booth
  • Sibel Guvenc
  • Kai Little-White
  • Kelly-Anne Riess
  • Hedyeh Bozorgzadeh
  • Charmaine Hammond
  • Rhonda Lucy
  • Alexandra Roberts
  • Bal Brach
  • Kara Harun
  • Frieda Luk
  • Coreena Robertson
  • Mariah Braun
  • Lynn Harvey
  • Lauren MacKinlay
  • Kulbinder Saran Caldwell
  • Fennella Bruce
  • Jennifer Haufler
  • Shanyn Maguire
  • Sage Shepherd
  • Mikayla Carson
  • Janine Heath
  • Gemma Martini
  • Patricia Sims
  • Ana P. Castillo
  • Laura Heath Potter
  • Shana McCalla
  • Sabrina Spence
  • Dana Claxton
  • Carmen Henriquez
  • Kate McCallum
  • Tia Taurere Clearsky
  • Pauline Couture
  • Hannah Hermanson
  • Ell McEachern
  • Sarah Taylor
  • Tamara Dawit
  • Rebeka Herron
  • Cher Merlo
  • Eva Thomas
  • Priyanka Desai
  • Wendy Hill-Tout
  • Tara Mewis
  • Loretta Sarah Todd
  • Kik Di Nino
  • Kylie Hitchcock
  • Laura Mingail
  • Natasha Vassell
  • Rebecca DiPasquale
  • Teresa M Ho
  • Vanessa Mitchell
  • Angelika Walaszczyk
  • Rosvita Dransfeld
  • Emma Houghton
  • Katharine Montagu
  • Leah Walker
  • Rime El Jadidi
  • Jennifer Irons
  • Kahstoserakwath Paulette Moore
  • Karen Walton
  • Tara Ellis
  • Judith Iseke
  • Michelle Morris
  • Rua Wani
  • Maddy Falle
  • Ania Jamila
  • Jenny Ng-Turner
  • Nicola Waugh
  • Corinne Ferguson
  • Shazia Javed
  • Ananya Ohri
  • Katie Weekley
  • Carmen Forsberg
  • Summandeep Kandola
  • Sheronna Osbourne
  • Brooke Woboditsch

Stay tuned to learn more about these amazing women and their companies.

For additional information, please visit:

http://www.spark.banffmediafestival.com/

http://www.banffmediafestival.com/

SUPPORTED BY

Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture

FOUNDING INDUSTRY PARTNER

Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture

PARTNERS

Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture
Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture
Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture
Brunico Communications Ltd., Tuesday, March 8, 2022, Press release picture

For more information, please contact:

Shanaaz Berment
Manager, Special Programs, Banff World Media Festival
416 408 2300 x 279
[email protected]

About BANFF Spark

Supported by The Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, BANFF Spark offers training, mentorship, and market access to women entrepreneurs in the screen and media industries. The program is designed to advance gender equality across the media sector and to bolster the economic success of all women. With a strong mandate to champion diversity at its core, the program is especially designed to empower women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ women, and non-binary individuals. BANFF Spark is open to applicants from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia who are ready to grow or launch their own businesses in the screen-based industries. Over the course of three years, the program will support up to 200 entrepreneurs.

For more information about the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media, please visit: http://www.spark.banffmediafestival.com/.

About the Banff World Media Festival

The Banff World Media Festival and the Rockie Awards host one of the world's most important gatherings of entertainment industry executives and creators dedicated to content development, production, broadcast and distribution within the screen industries. BANFF provides a platform for the evolving global media industry to develop its creative and business objectives. It serves as a leading destination for co-production and co-venture partners and is an unparalleled marketplace for international decision-makers to connect with new partners, learn from industry leaders and execute new business deals. In addition to its Festival programming and marketplace, BANFF continues to deliver important fellowships and initiatives including the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media, supported by the Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and which empowers Canadian women to launch and grow their own sustainable businesses within the screen-based industries, as well as the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative, a program that jumpstarts and accelerates the careers of up to 100 Black, Indigenous, and people of colour producers and creators.

For more information about the Banff World Media Festival, please visit: www.banffmediafestival.com

About the Government of Canada's Women Entrepreneurship Strategy

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing gender equality, women's economic empowerment and supporting women entrepreneurs through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), a $2-billion investment that seeks to double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025.

For more information on the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, visit:

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/107.nsf/eng/home

SOURCE: BANFF

Topic:
Company Update
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