History and Structure
On February 27, 2006 the Government of British Columbia passed the Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust Act, which established SIDIT, a not-for-profit corporation created to administer a $50 million one-time endowment intended to support investment in the economy of the Southern Interior of BC.
Governance of the Trust is carried out by a 13-member Board of Directors. Four Directors are appointed by each of two Regional Advisory Committees (RACs), which represent the Columbia- Kootenay and Thompson-Okanagan regions of the Trust`s territory. Membership in the two RACs is limited to local government elected officials and MLAs from each region.
The remaining five directors, all of whom reside in the Trust territory, are appointed by the Provincial Government, through its Crown Agencies and Board Resourcing Office.
In March 2021, SIDIT changed its name to ETSI-BC, the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior. It continues to deliver on its mandate of helping build a strong and diversified economy in our region.
From L to R: Susan Clovechok, Sue Cairns, Julie Kimmel, Diana Lockwood, Sharon Shepherd (Board Chair), Alan Harrison, Kevin Acton, Sue McKortoff, Paul Donald, Laurel Douglas, Wayne Kaboni, Phil Barker (missing: Steve Morissette)
Our Impact to Date
By 2020, SIDIT had invested almost $63 million since its inception, into projects with a total project value of over $245 million. Of this, $49 million were venture and growth loans to businesses in the region, $7 million was grant funding to the region`s six main post-secondary institutions, $3.5 million was invested in support of economic development projects, and $3.5 million went to local governments and non-profits, primarily in support of tourism, agriculture, and sport-related projects.
