President's Message
- Brant Hasanen
It is my pleasure and privilege to deliver the 2021 Venture Kamloops Annual Report. This report is presented on behalf of the Venture Kamloops Board of Directors, the group of community volunteers who are responsible for the governance and strategic direction of the organization.
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Executive Director’s Message
- Jim Anderson
Few of us ever would have believed that we would be looking back at 2021 as the second year of the global pandemic – and yet, here we are. This last 12 months has continued to test everyone, including Kamloops businesses. From restrictions of varying length and severity to total shutdowns, businesses have endured another year of uncertainty.
Read MoreThe VK Team
The team at Venture Kamloops works to provide the most up-to-date information to those interested in starting their business in Kamloops or expanding their current operations in the city. Contact us today and book an appointment for a confidential, no-obligation consultation to discover how we can support you.
Meet Our Staff Meet Our Board2021 Sector Growth Initiatives
The Colours on Spirit Square, by Arpa Investments
Residential Real Estate Review
The past decade in Kamloops has been characterized with an evolving and growing population, which in turn has created a demand in housing and a need for an increased housing stock. The Residential Real Estate Report provides developers interested in Kamloops with demographic, economic and real estate market data for the City of Kamloops and neighborhoods of interest. 2021 saw the completion of the report’s landing page on the Venture Kamloops website, and the incorporation of the report and its findings in the team’s developer attraction efforts.
Transportation and Warehousing Sector Assessment
With Transportation and Warehousing identified in the current strategic plan as a sector of high growth potential, 2021 saw an increased focus on data collection and understanding of the industry. The Transportation and Warehousing Sector Assessment was completed in 2021 in partnership with Davies Transportation and provides a high-level overview of the sector in Kamloops. The full report, along with the landing page on Venture Kamloops’ website provide a solid foundation for attraction efforts within the sector, as well as guidelines for Venture Kamloops’ initiatives and programming moving forward.
VK Programs
Start Here
The Start Here portal gives Kamloops entrepreneurs the ability to connect directly with Venture Kamloops or to find their starting point by inputting their desired supports and being referred to the local organizations that best fit their needs. In 2021, Venture Kamloops received over 60 Start Here consultation requests online, with those businesses being met with and connected to desired information and programming support. Start Here continues to ensure that there is no wrong door for entrepreneurs looking for support in Kamloops.
VK Accelerate
Venture Kamloops’ award-winning business support program continues to offer a curated suite of resources for entrepreneurs opening their first bricks and mortar location. VK Accelerate has a combined goal of supporting entrepreneurs in achieving their dreams of opening their first physical location, along with supporting a thriving business community by helping ensure there are no empty storefronts in Kamloops business areas. With over half a dozen businesses graduated from the intensive program already, VK Accelerate has become a fantastic resource for local entrepreneurs!
VK Venture Advisors
As Venture Kamloops’ longest running program, the VK Venture Advisors Program has a long history of supporting Kamloops based businesses with a suite of expert advice. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw the VK Venture Advisors program moved to virtual meetings via video conference, and offered the advisory sessions on demand during the lockdown in order to support the businesses in need. The program continues to run monthly and looks to support our business community through constructive feedback, insight and connections.
The Hive, by A&T Projects & Invictus Properties
VK Inside Track
With late 2021 seeing the easing of restrictions with regard to events and networking, Venture Kamloops has increased their efforts on developer attraction through the VK Inside Track Program. The addition of the Residential Real Estate Review along with existing data and information allows the VK Team to provide developers and site selectors with the information they need to make educated decisions on their opportunities. By increasing developer interest for residential commercial and industrial properties, we hope to create an environment for sustainable growth moving forward.
VK Program Highlights
Interactive Timelines
Katie and ClaireFriendly Composting
Katie Forsyth and Claire McLoughlin are roommates, beach volleyball partners, and co-cat moms from Delta and Campbell River, respectively. They spend A LOT of time together, so adding "business partners’ to the list was a natural next step! After seeing a need in the market for their compost pickup and local goods delivery service, the duo launched in March of 2020 and hasn’t looked back.
Brynn and ChristianBrynn's Bakery
Brynn Hill started out as a teenager who was obsessed with the Food Network and set a 10-year goal to own her own bakery. After two successful seasons at the Kamloops regional Farmer’s Market with her business partner, Christian Andrew, and 10 years of training in the culinary field, they came to VK Accelerate program for assistance in expanding into their first storefront.
VK Metrics
Strategic Plan Implementation (Number of Goals Achieved)
Economic Snapshot 2021
Employment Statistics
Source: statscan.gc.ca
Population Change
2016 to 2021
Source: Statistics Canada Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population
Housing
Building Permits
Excerpts from 2021 Financial Statements
Operating Results
| For the Year Ended December 31 | Budget | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | |||
| City of Kamloops Economic development funding | $639,733 | $639,733 | $633,399 |
| Donations in kind | $35,100 | $35,100 | $34,700 |
| Other Revenue | - | $7,434 | $409 |
| $674,833 | $682,267 | $668,508 | |
| Expenses | |||
| Administrative | $304,895 | $318,856 | $305,968 |
| Business Attraction | $231,891 | $246,762 | $152,059 |
| Business Retention and Expansion | $130,642 | $120,648 | $229,265 |
| $667,428 | $686,266 | $687,292 | |
| Annual Deficit | $7,405 | ($3,999) | ($18,784) |
| Accumulated Surplus, beginning of year | $113,971 | $113,971 | $132,755 |
| Accumulated Surplus, end of year | $121,376 | $109,972 | $113,971 |
Financial Position
| As at December 31, 2021 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Assets | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $153,938 | $161,482 |
| Accounts Receivable | $1,646 | $1,188 |
| $155,584 | $162,670 | |
| Liabilities | ||
| Accounts payable | $70,480 | $63,790 |
| Net Financial Assets | $85,104 | $98,880 |
| Non-financial assets | ||
| Prepaid expenses | $16,750 | $7,301 |
| Tangible capital assets | $8,118 | $7,790 |
| $24,868 | $15,091 | |
| Accumulated surplus | $109,972 | $113,971 |
VK Data & Initiatives
VK Data Centre
Gain access to a wide variety of Kamloops specific economic data through the VK Data Centre. The Data Centre is kept up to date with the latest economic reports, site selector information and allows the user to create custom reports via the report builder, access monthly economic data and more.
VK Takeovers
The VK Takeover Initiative continues to be a fun and interactive way for the VK Team to connect with local entrepreneurs, and in turn have those entrepreneurs connect with a new audience on social media. So far, over 2 dozen businesses have taken over the Venture Kamloops social media feeds, exposing them to a wide range of potential new followers and customers that are interested in supporting local business in Kamloops.
Support Local
Supporting local businesses continued to be a focus of Venture Kamloops through 2021, with the landing page offering users information on the importance and economic impact of supporting your local businesses. The platform also offers direct connection to a database of local businesses through the BC Marketplace.
The population of Kamloops is expected to grow by 5,000 people between 2017 and 2022.
