Lower Columbia region partners with Invest Kootenay

The communities of Trail, Rossland, Fruitvale, Montrose, Warfield and surrounding electoral areas are working together under the leadership of the Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation (LCIC) to use the Invest Kootenay tools and services to seek new business investment for the region.

Invest Kootenay is a regional partnership of Kootenay-region communities who have joined forces to attract, retain, and expand business investment in their community. Current partners include; Nelson, Castlegar, Revelstoke, Radium Hot Springs, Kimberley, Fernie, Sparwood, Kootenay Lake and, most recently, the Lower Columbia region.

“Invest Kootenay is one of the best examples of community collaboration for economic development in the Kootenays. Expanding the partnership to include the Lower Columbia region is of great benefit to us all” said Garry Jackman, chair of Invest Kootenay and RDCK Area A director.

Invest Kootenay offers a free, online listing service for investment opportunities and businesses for sale that provides exposure to a database of over 700 registered investors. “Not only does Invest Kootenay promote the Lower Columbia region for new investment, it also supports succession of existing businesses by connecting them to potential investors” said Terry Van Horn, Economic Development co-ordinator for LCIC. A recent Business and Retention and Expansion study of the Lower Columbia region by the LCIC and the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute at Selkirk College found that 22% of businesses surveyed expect a change in ownership in the next 3 years, and that 41% of those hope to sell their businesses to an investor outside their family.

LCIC is encouraging entrepreneurs and business owners from the Lower Columbia region to register their business opportunities at investkootenay.com. “Our region has so much to offer investors—not only do we have an excellent economic climate for investment and growth, the exceptional Lower Columbia lifestyle makes us attractive to investors seeking relocation. We want to use Invest Kootenay to showcase the many opportunities for business that exist here” said Van Horn.

LCIC is the economic development office for the Lower Columbia Region and is the result of a partnership between the City of Rossland, City of Trail, Villages of Warfield, Montrose, Fruitvale and Electoral Areas A & B of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary. The LCIC was created in 2010 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lower Columbia Community Development Team (LCCDTS), and is committed to a cohesive, comprehensive, region-wide approach to economic development in the Lower Columbia Region.