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.

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The 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 Board

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


Business Assisted; Categorized by:

Business Size (Number of Employees)

Business Sectors

Nature of Assistance

Performance Measures

Strategic Plan Implementation (Number of Goals Achieved)

Note: This number includes strategic items marked as ONGOING. This includes items where there is no intended completion date, but substantial progress has been made.

Educational Opportunities For Businesses

Social Media Engagement

Website Analytics

Economic Snapshot 2021


Employment Statistics

City of Kamloops (CY)
Total Population

Source: statscan.gc.ca

Population Change
2016 to 2021

Source: Statistics Canada Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population

Housing

All housing numbers obtained from www.kamloops.ca/building/pdfs/2016/december.pdf
MLS® Activity Reports - Average Price is for single-detached units in Kamloops only.

Business Licenses

Source: www.kamloops.ca/development/pdfs/16-DES-AnnualReport.pdf

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 FAST FACT
EMPLOYMENT

Employment in the construction and health industries are projected to increase an average of approximately 2.5% annually from 2016 to 2022.