The “Spark" Program will match selected candidates with a tourism mentor and provide a source of financial support to help take your great new tourism idea to the next level of development or implementation.

Up to $300,000 in total prizes up for grabs. New challenge area for 2022: creative industries and tourism.

The Economic Development Department has received $31,136 in grant funding through Island Coastal Economic Trust’s (ICET) DIVERSIFY – Capital and Innovation Program to develop and launch the next phase of its successful Modern Entrepreneur Series.

The City of Campbell River has partnered with Spring Activator, a global incubator and accelerator that empowers entrepreneurs and entrepreneur ecosystem organizations, to create the Launch Challenge, a newly-established $10,000 grant fund.

“One of our goals was to develop a program that supports a broad range of innovators, from individuals with compelling concepts through to mature companies with proven track-records in sales. We also hoped to show that innovation is possible across a broad range of industries relevant to our area,” says Andreas Hagen, angel investor and member of the Campbell River Area Angel Group (CRAAG). “We believe that the breadth of entries that made it through to last year’s finale are evidence of success along both of these dimensions.”