30 BCBUSINESS DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017
Inc., a software develop ment
company that builds mobile
apps, and within four months
Biznas had hired seven full-
time staff and generated
$220,000 in revenues. Good-
hew anticipates upward of
$600,000 in revenues by the
end of 2016.
While still a relatively
small enterprise, Biznas is
part of a growing tech hub in
the Okanagan, where com-
bined revenues for the sector
now top $1.3 billion annually,
trailing only Vancouver's ($23
billion) and Victoria's ($3 bil-
lion) tech hubs. The princi-
pals of Biznas are typical of
the Okanagan's burgeoning
tech scene, which is inject-
ing a youthful vigour into the
once-grey region. According
to Accelerate Okanagan, a
nonprofit technology accel-
erator, 52 per cent of the local
tech workforce is now under
35 years of age—up from 38
per cent in 2013.
Colin Basran, the 39-year-
old mayor of Kelowna, thinks
his community of 100,000
will continue to be a draw
for young talent, thanks to
the city's combination of low
taxes, affordable housing,
and new tech infrastructure
such as a 13-kilometre under-
ground fibre optic cable pro-
viding high-bandwidth data
transmissions.
"People who don't know
Kelowna well would have
thought of this as a retire-
ment dest i nat ion. O ver
the last five years that has
changed dramatically," says
Basran, adding that he thinks
Vancouver's affordabilit y
crisis presents an opportu-
nity for local tech employers.
"The biggest thing that's
holding back the growth of
the tech sector in Kelowna
is a lack of skilled labour. We
need to grow our own—so
that's where the post-sec-
ondary institutions come
in—and then attract skilled
labour from elsewhere. And
26
17
14
31
18
34
30
9
32
29
36
35
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
2017
RANK
2016
RANK
COMMUNITY
AVERAGE
HOUSEHOLD
INCOME
(15%)
AVERAGE
HOUSEHOLD
INCOME
UNDER 35 (10%)
AVERAGE HOUSE-
HOLD SPENDING
ON RECREATION
(10%)
AVERAGE
SHELTER
SPENDING
(15%)
FIVE-YEAR
POPULATION
GROWTH
(10%)
NANAIMO $82,965 $63,739 $5,284 $18,708 3.98%
VANCOUVER $94,302 $69,895 $4,868 $21,440 5.68%
BURNABY $87,972 $72,306 $4,384 $20,216 6.67%
DUNCAN $84,773 $67,117 $5,432 $18,562 1.30%
PARKSVILLE $79,077 $75,236 $5,017 $16,448 3.17%
QUESNEL $92,012 $78,404 $5,457 $14,321 0.16%
SALMON ARM $82,861 $68,631 $6,152 $18,586 2.32%
NEW WESTMINSTER $83,625 $67,728 $4,316 $19,699 6.98%
WILLIAMS LAKE $89,315 $75,042 $5,047 $14,583 -2.15%
PENTICTON $80,678 $68,102 $5,687 $18,204 -2.25%
PORT ALBERNI $72,376 $64,381 $4,672 $15,890 -1.05%
POWELL RIVER $74,254 $64,801 $4,836 $16,000 -0.45%
"The biggest thing that's holding back the
growth of the tech sector in Kelowna is a lack
of skilled labour. We need to grow our own...
and then attract skilled labour from elsewhere"
– Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran
Category weights shown in brackets. Full methodology on page 27
B E S T
C I T I E S
F O R W O R K
I N B.C.
