The former Kamloops Innovation accelerator now has a new name – Central Interior Business Accelerator (CIBA). With a fresh brand and strategic communications plan, CIBA expects to expand its reach and support entrepreneurs in the Kamloops area and across the Thompson, Nicola and Cariboo regions.

In BC’s Southern Interior, three business accelerators provide support to entrepreneurs and their ventures: CIBA, Accelerate Okanagan (AO), and the Kootenay Association of Science & Technology (KAST).

Established as Innovation Kamloops in 2012, CIBA has a track record of supporting startups and seasoned entrepreneurs who want to scale up.  From 2012 to 2023, it assisted more than 80 companies resulting in the creation of over 150 jobs, generated over $40 million in revenue and attracted almost $9 million in new investment.  More than 250 entrepreneurs received one-to-one mentoring.

“Despite our regional mandate, Kamloops Innovation has operated largely within the Kamloops city limits for some time,” says Executive Director Michael Andrews.  “It was time to reimagine our business model to better meet the needs of entrepreneurs throughout our entire service area.”

The Economic Trust of the Southern Interior (ETSI-BC) supported CIBA through its Building Economic Capacity funding stream to develop a broad stakeholder engagement process and a strategic plan for action.  “This project will help more small and medium-sized businesses adopt technology, increase productivity and efficiency, and retain and create jobs,” says Laurel Douglas, Executive Director of ETSI-BC. The ETSI-BC funding was matched by Innovate BC, the lead agency that supports the province’s important network of accelerators.  

Stakeholder Engagement Across the Region

At the start of the project, consultations with stakeholders and community members showed a limited understanding of the purpose and mission of the organization now known at the Central Interior Business Accelerator (CIBA). To broaden awareness of the organization and reaffirm its value to the entrepreneurial landscape, presentations and one-on-one meetings were held with numerous businesses and economic development stakeholders including Chambers of Commerce and Community Futures in Merritt, Ashcroft, Williams Lake and other communities in the Thompson Nicola Regional District.

CIBA also worked with Sc.wén̓wen, the economic development corporation for Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc, attended its Indigenous business and economic development events, and hosted an Indigenous Business Panel event at Thompson River University (TRU). CIBA has also strengthened its partnership with Kamloops Immigration Services to offer entrepreneurship workshops to new Canadians and has partnered with the MOSAC Accelerator to support business workshops and academic summits in Kamloops.

CIBA, which relocated to the Thompson Rivers University campus in 2023, is now also bringing more support and resources to the campus community and connecting faculty members with emerging technologies to support their research. “Building partnerships is what we do,” says Andrews. “You have to sit down and talk to people about their needs. With CIBA’s expanded focus, we are doing just that.”

Creating a More Inclusive Brand

Andrews points out that many great entrepreneurial ideas never move to the validation phase due to a lack of knowledge, support, and mentorship services.  “By involving stakeholders in the re-branding process, the new Central Interior Business Accelerator (CIBA) has created a solid foundation of partnerships and interest in our services from across the region,” he says. 

Nearly 30 entrepreneurs were assisted by CIBA in 2024, more than any previous year. Between July and October, mentorship agreements were formalized with an Indigenous-led construction company and a First Nations grocery store. CIBA’s reach and credibility helped to attract KPMG as a sponsor, develop a partnership with a local investor, and initiate work to explore the creation of a regional investor network.

Future activities will include entrepreneur referral events, collaborative workshops to develop entrepreneurial skills, and sharing of stories and testimonials from entrepreneurs CIBA has assisted. Continuous development of CIBA’s online assets will ensure entrepreneurs can do research and find the information they need 24/7.

“Every entrepreneur needs someone in their corner,” says Andrews. “Now we have a new name, a new brand and a playbook of strategies, methods and step-by-step processes to achieve our initial goals and build on them for the longer-term.”