Village Gamer

The B.C. Ministry of International Trade is partnering with the BC Innovation Council and the Canadian Consulate (New York) to offer B.C. women in technology the opportunity to access the lucrative New York City market via its Canadian Technology Accelerator program. This one-day Vancouver event will target women-led or -managed B.C. companies with a technology product that may include mobile apps, e-commerce for fashion-retail, analytics, cloud computing, ad-technology, and gaming.

Women working in the tech sector will have the opportunity to meet with leaders from media and branding as well as venture capital contacts in the New Your City market. Participants will also meet the Canadian Trade Commissioners from New York and Seattle to learn about Canadian Consulate programming for tech, market trends in New York City, and brand relationships and engagement with the local market.

“B.C.’s tech industry is very important to our economy and we encourage more women to get involved in this sector,” said Teresa Wat, Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism. “Events like this provide information and contacts that can help entrepreneurs grow their business in markets they may not otherwise have access to.”

“The technology sector has quickly become a key driver for our economy, and events like these are a great way to build on that momentum,” added Andrew Wilkinson, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services.

Of the 20 companies who participate, 10 will be given the opportunity to promote their product in a four-minute pitch. This will be followed by feedback from the brand and venture capital partners that will include referrals and business development advice.

In the past, when the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service organized digital media technology programming in New York City, they found that women were not well represented. To engage more women in Consulate programming for tech, they are now organizing pipeline development programs in Canada such as the one in Vancouver.

“Women’s leadership in technology is rapidly becoming a pre-requisite of future success and we are fortunate to have a growing number of outstanding women role models in the tech industry in BC,” stated Greg Caws, CEO, BC Innovation Council.

In 2012, the Consulate General in New York established a Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA@NYC) in New York City to help Canadian digital media companies access key resources to accelerate their growth. New York City is increasingly taking centre stage as a hot-bed for internet-based technology entrepreneurship and is a world capital for advertising, media, fashion-retail, financial services and innovation.

“We’re looking forward to this event as an opportunity to gain insight into the New York tech market and to expand our network,” concluded Kristin Garn, founder of Mathtoons Media Inc. “This offers us a great chance to gain meaningful feedback about Mathtoons business plans and to make purposeful connections.”

Quick Facts:

• B.C.’s technology sector accounts for $23.2 billion in annual revenue.
• The high-tech sector comprises a workforce of over 84,000.
• 253 net new businesses emerged in B.C.’s high-tech sector in 2012, a growth of 2.9% over the previous year. In total, there are now 9,010 high-tech businesses with employees in the province in 2012.
• BC Innovation Council’s province-wide Venture Acceleration Program trains and coaches ambitious early-stage technology entrepreneurs and innovators.
• B.C. is home to 50 research centres and eight centres of excellence, including Wavefront, Canada’s national centre for wireless technology research, commercialization and growth, and Genome BC, which manages a portfolio of $625 million spread across 180 genomics research projects and science and technology platforms.