Community Futures Central Okanagan

What Community Futures Central Okanagan does

Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Okanagan (CFDCCO), operating as Community Futures Central Okanagan, is a non-profit community-based organization founded in 1990 and headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia. The organization delivers small business development services to entrepreneurs and existing small businesses in the Central Okanagan region (Oyama to Peachland), including business lending up to $150,000, a Self-Employment Program, business incubation, workshops and training (including the 10-week Business Plan Development Program and the Opportunity Readiness Workshop), a Sustainable Development leadership series, and Export Navigator advisory services. Since inception it has deployed $34,478,597 in loans to 1,173 businesses and supported over 2,000 participants in its Self-Employment Start-up Program delivered since 1992. The organization does not develop or sell technology products; its core operational capability is the in-person and remote delivery of advisory, training, and lending services by a small team of staff and business advisors (approximately 8-10 people including the incoming and outgoing General Manager).

CFDCCO is funded primarily by Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), which capitalized the loan fund with $1.4 million in 1990; the loan fund has since grown to over $5 million through reinvestment. Revenue is supplemented by provincial contracts and by loan interest (bank prime + 4-6%) and a 2% processing fee (minimum $350) on approved loans. Most non-lending services are offered free of charge, with the Business Plan Development Program also available on a fee-for-service basis for non-WorkBC-sponsored individuals. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct appointment-based advisory, partnership referrals from WorkBC Employment Service Centres and the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, community events such as the annual Small Business Week Open House, and integration into the 267-office national Community Futures network. Recent strategic activity includes a $100M national financing partnership with BDC announced in October 2025, the launch of the CUSMA Compliance Advisory Services Initiative (CCASI) providing up to $5,000 in tariff-related reimbursements, the Okanagan Manufacturing Database collaboration with COEDC (700+ manufacturers), hosting of the Rural Resilience Program, and a General Manager succession from Larry Widmer (18-year tenure) to Josh Byron.

Name

Community Futures Central Okanagan

Legal name

Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Okanagan

Website

https://cfdcco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Community Futures Central Okanagan is a Kelowna-based non-profit (founded 1990) that provides small business lending (up to $150K), training, and advisory services to entrepreneurs and SMBs across the Central Okanagan, funded primarily by PacifiCan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Economic Development and Small Business Lending

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAKAGAI

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans

Financial & Insurance/Lending & Consumer Finance/Small Business & Microenterprise Lending

SECONDARYBPADAOAD

Development Finance & Blended Finance Facilities

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Donor Coordination, Grantmaking & Development Finance Programs

SECONDARYBPAIACAN

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Local/Municipal Government Administration

Keywords

• Small business lending
• Entrepreneur advisory services
• Self-employment training
• Business incubation support
• Export navigator advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Kelowna

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Funding: Primary revenue source is federal government funding through Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan). The organization was initially capitalized with $1.4 million in federal loan funds and has grown its loan fund to over $5 million through reinvestment.
2. Provincial Contracts: Contracts with the Province of BC and other funders to deliver business development programs.
3. Loan Interest and Processing Fees: Revenue generated from loan interest rates (bank prime + 4-6%) and 2% processing fees (minimum $350) on approved loans up to $150,000.
4. Fee-for-Service Programs: Business Plan Development Program available on a fee-for-service basis for individuals not sponsored by WorkBC. Bursaries and financial support may also be available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Community Futures Central Okanagan provides small business financing (term loans up to $150,000) alongside self-employment training, business incubation, workshops, sustainable development programs, and export advisory services. Programs are delivered at no or low cost to entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Central Okanagan region, funded primarily by the federal government through PacifiCan.

Product overview

Community Futures Development Corporation of Central Okanagan is a community-based non-profit organization that provides a comprehensive suite of small business development services. Rather than a technology product company, it offers integrated support programs including Business Lending (financing up to $150,000), Self-Employment Program, Business Incubation, Workshops & Training (including Opportunity Readiness and Business Plan Development programs), Sustainable Development initiatives, and Export Navigator advisory services. These programs work together to provide entrepreneurs and small business owners with access to financing, training, mentorship, and specialized advisory services tailored to individual needs in the Central Okanagan region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,173 businesses supported with $34,478,597 in loans since 1990
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission (COEDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 August 2025COEDC and Community Futures collaborated on the Okanagan Manufacturing Database initiative, profiling 700+ manufacturers from Salmon Arm to Osoyoos. Community Futures helped share this resource with its network. COEDC also works with Community Futures on economic development initiatives.
• Rural Resilience ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2023Community Futures Central Okanagan hosts the Rural Resilience suite of programs to help communities and businesses deal with extreme weather and wildfire events in the Central Okanagan. Includes Program Ambassador and subject matter business experts.
• Thrive Impact Fund / PurpplminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2022Community Futures Central Okanagan played an enabling role in the expansion of Thrive Impact Fund to the BC Interior, supporting social enterprises with patient impact-aligned investment capital.
• Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2013Partnership to deliver youth entrepreneurship program offering startup financing of up to $15,000 via low-interest loans, potentially matched up to $30,000 through BDC partnership, plus mentorship. CYBF delivers programs through community partners like CFDCCO for entrepreneurs age 18-39.
• WorkBCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkBC Employment Service Centres in West Kelowna, Kelowna-Capri, and Rutland refer eligible EI/Reachback clients to Community Futures Self-Employment Program. WorkBC sponsors eligible individuals for the Business Plan Development Program and provides income support during business research and launch phases.
• Women's Enterprise Centre (WeBC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for joint events such as open houses during Small Business Month. Women's Enterprise Centre serves women entrepreneurs in BC.
• Export Navigator Program (Federal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Futures has an in-house Export Navigator specialist (Raeanne Anderson) providing free export guidance to BC businesses. The program helps businesses with CUSMA compliance and market diversification, including the CCASI initiative providing up to $5,000 reimbursement.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Global startup accelerator providing seed funding, mentorship, and programming to early-stage companies. Functionally analogous to CFDCCO's Business Incubation programme in delivering structured advisor-led support and capital access to founders, though at higher scale and venture-stage orientation.
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC): Canada's federal development bank and a direct partner of CFDCCO via the $100M national financing partnership. Serves overlapping SME clients with larger loan products; while BDC is a chartered Crown corporation with broader mandate and scale, CFDCCO complements it by serving sub-$150K borrowers BDC cannot efficiently underwrite.
• Community Futures British Columbia (CFBC): Provincial association representing the 34 Community Futures offices in BC. Provides network-wide coordination, training, and policy advocacy that CFDCCO relies on; comparable in mission but operates as an umbrella association rather than a direct service-delivery office.
• MaRS Discovery District: Toronto-based innovation hub offering advisory services, programming, and ecosystem support to high-growth ventures. Comparable in delivering non-capital founder services (advisory, training, partnerships) and connecting entrepreneurs to funding, though serving a venture-stage rather than Main Street client base.
• Coast Capital Savings: Federally chartered credit union serving the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island with a stated community-impact mandate. Indirect peer for SMB deposit/lending services in the BC credit-union system that CFDCCO refers clients to when borrowers graduate beyond the $150K threshold.

Direct peers

• Futurpreneur Canada: Canada's leading non-profit youth (18-39) entrepreneurship lender providing startup financing up to $60K plus mentorship. Directly comparable to CFDCCO's Youth Loan Fund and CYBF partnership line; both serve entrepreneurs the traditional banking system underserves, with a hybrid financing + advisory model.
• Women's Enterprise Centre (WeBC): BC-focused non-profit providing business advisory, training, and lending support to women entrepreneurs. Directly comparable mission and service model, and an active partner of CFDCCO (joint events during Small Business Month). Both deliver advisor-led, government-funded programming to under-served SMB segments.
• Accelerate Okanagan: Regional non-profit technology and innovation hub serving Okanagan entrepreneurs through accelerator programmes, mentorship, and the OKGN Angel Summit. Direct partner of CFDCCO with overlapping client base (e.g., Beyond Aerospace, Happipad) and complementary focus on tech/scale-up versus CFDCCO's generalist small-business lending.
• Francophone Economic Development Organization of BC (SDECB): Non-profit providing business development services to BC's francophone entrepreneurs. Directly linked from CFDCCO's website as a referral partner; identical non-profit, government-funded, advisor-led model targeting an under-served linguistic segment.

Emerging players

• Thrive Impact Fund: BC-based impact-investment fund providing patient capital to social enterprises. CFDCCO played an enabling role in Thrive's expansion into the BC Interior; comparable in mission (community economic development through finance) but operates as a venture-style impact investor rather than a community-development lender.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-futures-central-okanagan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Futures Central Okanagan