100 Student Businesses Showcase Innovation at Peel Expo

When Grade 6 students Neervi and Mehreen noticed classmates struggling with anxiety, they didn't just feel bad about it. They fired up a 3D printer and started a business creating fidget toys to help.

Their venture was one of 100 student-led businesses showcased at Beryl Ford Public School's second annual Entrepreneur Expo on May 21. Students from 10 Peel District schools turned curiosity into action, developing real products and services that address genuine community needs.

The program started with a simple question posed to students in 2025: If you could make your community better through a product or service, what would you do? Under Principal Juanita Taylor's leadership and with mentorship from entrepreneur Suzette Daley, owner of MINIINTEL, students learned to transform their answers into actual businesses.

They didn't just dream. They collected data, created budgets, designed logos, formed focus groups, and practiced pitching their ideas to real audiences.

Grade 8 students Zarah and Nathalie from Erin Centre Middle School tackled period poverty head-on. After learning that one in four women worldwide struggle to afford menstrual products, they designed reusable pads and started PrePeel to address period pollution, stigma, and poverty. "At first students snicker, but when they learn about the problem, they change," Zarah explained. "That's what we're hoping to do."

Mally and his business partners turned two years of logo designs into Star, a company selling inspirational T-shirts. When asked what they learned, partner Carrick summed it up: "Teamwork and cooperation. Making shirts isn't easy, but we came together and made it through."

Giovanna, who arrived in Canada from Nigeria just three years ago, wrote and published "The Spread of Kindness." Her book aims to remind people that small acts of kindness help newcomers feel connected and give everyone hope for the future.

The Ripple Effect

The program revealed unexpected talents in students who had been overlooked. Prabhjas, a neurodivergent Grade 7 student, ran a lemonade stand that showcased communication skills his teachers had never witnessed before. "This expo brought out a side of him that our staff really needed to see," said guidance counselor Sureena Minhas.

Principal Taylor designed the program to honor a reality many schools ignore: today's students will enter careers that don't exist yet. Entrepreneurship teaches the innovation and adaptability they'll actually need.

By learning to create opportunities instead of waiting for them, these young entrepreneurs practiced failing, pivoting, and problem-solving in real time. They discovered that changing the world doesn't require permission or perfection. It just requires starting.