Business View Magazine | February 2020

228 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2020 Phase Two of the initiative was launched in 2019 with funding from the Powell River Community Forest Corporation Reserve Fund, Island Coastal Economic Trust, qathet Regional District, and City of Powell River. One of the first pieces to be delivered out of Phase Two of the program is the Coworking and Collaboration Space, which opened on the second floor of the Powell River Public Library in October. Through a paid membership program, entrepreneurs are able to access office and meeting rooms to work from. In addition to this, the space will be used to deliver programs for entrepreneurs in the community, including professional development workshops and networking events to allow for business collaboration and innovation. “I like to refer to it as an incubator,” says Radke. “A place where entrepreneurial-spirited people can get together, have co-working or personal working space, and share their ideas and resources.” The rural population of the qRD is approx. 6,000 with the Tla’amin Nation around 1,000 and