Program set to provide early stage companies with access to up to $250,000
                                 in capital

    TORONTO, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ - The BlackBerry Partners Fund LP, a $150
million venture capital fund formed to focus on applications and services
for the BlackBerry(R) platform and other mobile platforms, announced today
that it has launched its Jump Start Financing Initiative.

    The Jump Start initiative provides entrepreneurs with capital infusions
of up to $250,000. The funding initiative is designed to bring new and
innovative ideas into the development process faster allowing entrepreneurs
to focus on building great smartphone applications instead of raising seed
capital.

    "At the BlackBerry Partners Fund we believe it is important to
encourage the development of an industry that is predicted to become the
fastest growing application market the world has ever seen," said Rick
Segal, Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund, who is spearheading this
program. "We are eager to review pioneering ideas and assist entrepreneurs
with the advancement of their concept into a viable product faster and more
cost effectively than ever before."

    "Building a business to compete in the fast moving mobile marketplace
requires focus," said Kevin Talbot, Co-Managing Partner of the BlackBerry
Partners Fund. "We want entrepreneurs to spend time building innovative
applications instead of searching for start-up capital in a time where the
economic environment may prove unnecessarily distracting."

    By offering up to $250,000 in the form of a convertible debenture, the
BlackBerry Partners Fund is providing entrepreneurs with a standard
financing package that is not onerous on the entrepreneurs while giving the
BlackBerry Partners Fund early exposure to the opportunity. Entrepreneurs
interested in the Jump Start Funding Initiative should visit
http://www.blackberrypartnersfund.com.

    About BlackBerry Partners Fund

    The BlackBerry Partners Fund is a $150 million venture capital fund
focused on applications and services including mobile commerce (payments,
advertising, retailing and banking), vertical and horizontal enterprise
applications, communications, social networking, location-based
applications and services (navigation and mapping), media and
entertainment, and lifestyle and personal productivity applications for the
BlackBerry(R) and other mobile platforms. The Fund will consider all stages
of development and is co-managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.
For further information visit: http://www.blackberrypartnersfund.com.

    The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols
are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

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