?aq’am Community Enterprises (ACE) is the economic development arm of the ?aq’am First Nation, the largest member of Ktunaxa Nation. Known for its progressive business development goals, ACE undertook a comprehensive review of its strategic priorities. The result is a dynamic new five-year strategic plan that will guide more efficient, tactical, and resilient delivery of ACE’s programs and services. The project was supported by the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC).
Tourism Innovation Lab Builds Entrepreneurship at Thompson Rivers University
Business incubators have provided valuable support to tech start-ups for years. They offer shared access to resources from office space to mentorship, training, and connection with other entrepreneurial minds. Inspired by the tech incubator model and a $25,000 grant from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC), Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has created a Tourism Innovation Lab. Here, students in tourism can develop their entrepreneurial skills and creativity in addition to the business acumen, and skills they learn in the classroom.
“We find that early-stage companies in any sector have similar challenges and opportunities,” said David Carter, Assistant Teaching Professor at TRU’s Tourism Management Department. “This includes identifying target customers, validating a product idea, and guidance from experienced mentors. Traditionally, there hasn’t been the same focus on entrepreneurial training for tourism that there is for technology.” The Tourism Innovation Lab seeks to change that.
Multiple Partners Aligned in their Vision
The Tourism Innovation Lab is a partnership between the Department of Tourism Management at TRU, Tourism Kamloops, and the Kamloops Innovation Centre. The program leverages an existing tourism management course by incorporating real-world market research, destination development and mentorship. Students apply their skills and critical thinking to the creation of tourism product ideas. The ideas are turned into proposals and presented to a panel of representatives including project funders and tourism industry experts. The proposals also serve as applications to enter the Tourism Venture Acceleration Program at TRU where students learn to take their ideas to the next level by creating a business plan.
Carter is leading the initiative for TRU, coordinating with the Kamloops Innovation Centre and Tourism Kamloops to deliver the program. Tourism Kamloops, a co-funder of the Tourism Innovation Lab, is providing guidance on the types of projects based on regional tourism needs. The Kamloops Innovation Centre, in collaboration with the TRU Generator it operates at TRU, will continue to provide programs that guide, coach and mentor technology entrepreneurs as well as lending its resources to the tourism students.
The Tourism Innovation Lab also hopes to partner with Destination BC on its new Sparks grants program, one of the few tourism-focussed incubators in Canada launched by the University of Windsor. “We hope this grant money will allow us to increase our sphere of influence and build our tourism entrepreneurial capacity provincially, possibly becoming a node for the Sparks program in the Thompson Okanagan.”
Sweet Success Indicators
TRU ran a scaled down version of the program in 2021 with two students looking to create a tourism experience focused on bees and honey. Tourism Innovation Lab coaches provided several contacts to learn more about bees, including Dr. Courtney Mason, a Canada Research Chair at TRU who runs a bee apiary on campus in conjunction with the Kamloops Beekeepers Club. “Through these connections, the students were able to tour the beehive facilities and learn all they needed to propose a brilliant entrepreneurial idea – Honeybee’s Sweet Adventure Tour,” remarked Carter.
Since 2008, ETSI-BC has contributed more than $14 million to the university in the form of student awards and bursaries. “Post-secondary institutions in the Southern Interior are delivery partners for the Trust’s investment in education,” said Laurel Douglas, CEO of ETSI-BC. “Initiatives like the Tourism Innovation Lab help build economic capacity, support regional partnership, create jobs and address unmet needs in the community.”
More News & Stories
Thompson-Okanagan Launches New Economic Development Practitioners Network
After a year of work connecting economic development practitioners across the Thompson-Okanagan, the region’s first Economic Development Practitioners Network (EDPN) is now in place. Modelled after the Kootenay Boundary EDPN created in 2014, the Thompson Okanagan EDPN includes community and municipal and First Nations economic development practitioners, Chambers of Commerce, Community Futures and other stakeholders. The group came together for the first time on April 8, 2026, where they learned, shared ideas and information, and further planned future activities. The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is committed to supporting both the Kootenay Boundary and Thompson-Okanagan networks of economic development practitioners.
2027-30 Strategic Planning and DAAP 4.39 Updates
June 25, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is grateful for the input from partners, funding recipients, committee members and other regional stakeholders who have taken the time to help inform our next three-year Strategic Plan for 2027-30. We are also pleased to provide an update on the status of the DAAP 4.39 action item.
ETSI-BC Fall 2026 Funding Intake: Up to $1M Available for Projects
June 18, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) is pleased to announce that its next Funding Intake will launch on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 and close on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
ETSI-BC Spring Funding Intake Invests Over $1 Million to Strengthen the Southern Interior Economy
June 8, 2026 – Communities across British Columbia’s Southern Interior are set to benefit from a new round of investment through the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior. On June 5, 2026, ETSI-BC approved $1,011,000 in funding for 33 projects, representing a combined project value of $3 million. The funded initiatives will help communities diversify their local economies, support innovation, and respond to regional opportunities
Helping Shape the Future of ETSI-BC Support in the Southern Interior
May 11, 2026 – ETSI-BC is inviting partners from across the Southern Interior to participate in a series of virtual focus groups as part of an Impact Assessment that will inform its next three-year Strategic Plan, covering the period from April 1, 2027 to March 31, 2030.
Similkameen Economic Vitality Plan Drives Growth and Resilience
Keremeos, one of the fastest growing rural communities in British Columbia, has evolved from its agricultural heritage to a business hub at the heart of the Similkameen region with a robust tourist sector and vast potential to develop new business opportunities. In 2024, the Similkameen Country Development Association initiated a comprehensive Economic Vitality Initiative to better address the pressing needs of local businesses. Collaboration by many stakeholders along with funding support from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) drove the plan to completion, and the strategies it contains are now being implemented.
Ktunaxa Business Showcase Links Indigenous Businesses to Procurement Opportunities
The Ktunaxa Business Showcase, led by the Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC), is expanding, improving and helping members secure new business contracts in southeastern BC. The success of the most recent 2025 Showcase event reflects strategic changes to the program’s timeline and format, and was supported by funding from the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC).
Strong Demand for ETSI-BC Spring Funding Intake
April 15, 2026 – The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) closed its 2026 Spring Funding Intake, with a strong response from communities and organizations across the region. The intake closed on April 9, 2026, with 48 applications requesting nearly $1.7 million in funding, representing a combined project value of almost $4 million.
2026 ETSI-BC Legislative Review
March 30, 2026 – We are pleased to present the findings and recommendations of the 2026 ETSI-BC Legislative Review Committee. The Committee reviewed the Act that governs ETSI-BC and the proposed changes that the Province has put forward this year. A Legislative Review is conducted every 5 years by an independent committee. This year in particular, their report has several important recommendations of relevance to First Nations and local governments in the Southern Interior, and to the Province.