Business Buzz: Redrawing Colorado’s Opportunity Zone map and rebuilding the credit system

DENVER — The mechanics of economic mobility are shifting in Colorado. Capital flows where the infrastructure allows it, and right now, two massive pieces of financial infrastructure are being rewritten: the map that dictates federal tax incentives and the data models that dictate consumer credit.

On Monday’s edition of the 9NEWS Business Buzz, 9NEWS Business Expert Ryan Frazier sat down with state and industry leaders to discuss what this means for investors, founders, and consumers.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Colorado is redesignating its Opportunity Zones.

In an exclusive sit-down with Jeff Kraft, Deputy Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), Frazier revealed the striking “math of scarcity” behind the new map:

• The Selection Gap: Out of Colorado’s 1,447 census tracts, preliminary estimates show only 348 are expected to be eligible.
• The Final Cut: Federal rules allow the Governor to designate only one-quarter of those eligible tracts, meaning approximately 87 zones will be selected for the entire state.
• The Pivot: While the original program (2018–2026) was dominated by real estate, this redesign is explicitly structured to direct capital toward Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses (QOZBs)—operating companies that create jobs.

Time-Sensitive Call to Action: The nomination window for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to submit selections opens in July 2026. OEDIT is urging residents, local governments, and small business owners to get involved now: 

1. Visit oedit.colorado.gov to view the eligible tract list.
2. Sign up for the Opportunity Zone newsletter at the bottom of their page.
3. Use the online tools to submit feedback on which zones should be designated and why.

Currently, 134 million Americans are locked out of fair credit access — 49 million are entirely “invisible” to the system, while another 85 million are trapped by subprime scores.

Cedric Lipsey, founder of the Denver-based fintech Clusivi, joined the program to detail how his firm is replacing the legacy FICO model.

• The Problem: The current system measures past hardship, not present behavior.
• The Solution: Clusivi evaluates real-time financial behavior, such as cash flow consistency and spending discipline.
• The Result: This data-driven approach allows lenders to safely expand credit to the 62% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, including many earning over $100,000 a year who are currently underserved by traditional scores.

• The Scarcity: Only 87 zones will be chosen from nearly 1,500 tracts.
• The Window: New boundaries take effect January 2027, but the feedback window closes this summer.

• The Barrier: 134 million people are blocked by backward-looking scores.
• The Future: Real-time data is the key to expanding homeownership and wealth-building for the “credit invisible.”

Watch Ryan Frazier’s full interviews with Jeff Kraft and Cedric Lipsey from today’s 9NEWS Business Buzz at the links below.