Village Gamer

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and BDC Capital, a subsidiary of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), announced today a collaboration to provide companies that have received CMF funding with greater access to capital in order to accelerate the commercialization of their projects and attract potential additional private sector investments.  BDC Capital will support eligible companies with a convertible note worth $150,000 to complement investments already committed by the CMF.

“This unprecedented collaboration between the CMF and Canada’s largest institutional venture capital investor reflects a shared commitment to support Canadian companies by providing access to greater capital and markets and by promoting the success of Canadian media innovation,” says Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF.  “This is one more step in finding creative solutions to build support for Canada’s innovative digital media industry.”

As of June 30, 2014, BDC Capital’s Strategic Investments and Partnerships team has invested in 87 start-ups, representing $13.2 million in capital, which has attracted more than double in private-sector and angel investments.

“When considering new partners with whom to deploy the convertible note we look for innovative and unique programs that have demonstrated the ability to have a significant, positive impact in the Canadian start-up ecosystem. We believe CMF meets these criteria,” stated Dominique Bélanger, Vice-President of Strategic Investments and Partnerships at BDC Capital. “We are excited to partner with CMF and look forward to helping the best innovations fulfill their greatest potential.”

This initiative is designed for games and software startup companies whose projects received – or will receive – funding through the CMF’s Experimental Stream either in 2013-2014 or 2014-2015.  Startup companies must also meet the BDC Capital’s Strategic Investment & Partnerships criteria.

The CMF will contact applicants that correspond to the criteria outlined by the CMF and BDC Capital to provide additional information on this initiative.