BVX 2025: Brampton’s Boldest Tech Expo Set the Stage for Innovation, Community & Big Ideas

On September 11, 2025, the fifth annual Brampton Venture Expo (BVX) transformed The Rose Theatre into a hub of ideas, connections, and possibilities. Organized by Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Brampton Venture Zone (BVZ) and powered by the Brampton Innovation District, BVX has grown from a community gathering into Peel Region’s flagship innovation showcase—now drawing national attention.

This year, over 1,300 attendees—including entrepreneurs, investors, students, small business owners, corporate leaders, and community stakeholders—came together to celebrate Brampton’s bold future.

BVX 2025: A Day of Innovation, Connection & Impact

BVX 2025 was designed as more than a conference; it was a platform for action. The program featured:

• Keynotes & Panels
  
  • Innovation Rx: Brampton’s Prescription for a Smarter Healthcare Future showcased MedTech disruptors building solutions for global and local health challenges.
    
  • Emerging Tech Frontiers: From AI to XR spotlighted founders and investors driving frontier technologies.
    
• Startup Showcase
  Interactive demos from early-stage ventures gave founders visibility with investors, peers, and potential partners.
  
• Innovation Zone
  Beyond booths, this high-energy space featured fireside chats, upskilling  workshops, where attendees—particularly students and job seekers—gained advice, built skills, and explored opportunities.
  

Featured Speakers Included:

• Dr. Jobin Varughese – TMU School of Medicine
• Veronique Boscart – William Osler Health System
• Dr. Saumik Biswas – Tenomix Inc.
• Ken Spears – Boston Scientific
• Vinay Paramanand – ImmXRsive, Algoma University
• Charles Finlay – Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, TMU
• Imtiaz Kermali – eShipper
• Kulbir Colin Singh Dhillon – Futurist & Bestselling Author (Closing Keynote)
  

BVZ: Powering Brampton’s Innovation Story

While BVX brings the community together annually, it is BVZ’s year-round work that fuels this momentum.

Founded in 2020, BVZ exists to fill a critical gap in Canada’s innovation ecosystem: providing place-based, founder-first support for early-stage startups. With the support of the City of Brampton, BVZ has already helped more than 50 ventures across sectors like mobility, food sustainability, smart cities, and health & wellness.

Renewed Commitments & Ecosystem Building

This year at BVX, TMU, BVZ, and the City of Brampton renewed their five-year partnership, affirming a joint commitment to:

• Inclusive economic growth

• Early-stage venture development, ensuring local founders have the networks, mentorship, and capital they need to scale

• Deputy Mayor Harkirat Singh and Dr. Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano, Provost & VP-Academic at TMU, took the stage to highlight this milestone.

BVX Connects Local Roots With Global Aspirations

1. HealthTech & Research Ecosystem
Brampton’s growing reputation in MedTech and research was front and centre. Proximity to TMU’s new School of Medicine, along with collaborative research hubs, positions BVX as the meeting point between labs, clinics, and startups.

2. Inclusive Growth & Talent Development
Workshops and clinics gave practical value to students, job seekers, and emerging founders, ensuring innovation opportunities are accessible across Brampton’s diverse community.

3. Capital, Visibility & Global Reach
Panels and showcases created direct access to investors, customers, and collaborators, amplifying Brampton’s role in both local and global innovation pipelines.

CanadianSME as the Official Media Partner

The partnership between BVX 2025 and CanadianSME Small Business Magazine elevated the expo experience with powerful storytelling and multimedia coverage. From live interviews with rising founders to video highlights of innovation zones and behind-the-scenes moments of mentorship, CanadianSME captured the energy of the day.

A special BVX edition spotlighted ventures growing through BVZ programs, including a local AgriTech startup that built a data-driven greenhouse monitoring system in BVZ’s prototyping lab. These stories didn’t just showcase ideas—they demonstrated real progress, local impact, and Brampton’s place on the innovation map.

Challenges & Opportunities Ahead

As BVX and BVZ continue shaping Brampton’s ecosystem, four priorities will define their path forward:

• Sustained Funding & Resources: Beyond visibility, startups need consistent capital, mentorship, and infrastructure. TMU and the City of Brampton’s renewed partnership must translate into tangible support.
  
• Bridging Research to Market: With TMU’s School of Medicine anchoring research, the challenge lies in helping prototypes move from labs to commercial-ready solutions.
  
• Equity & Talent Retention: Brampton’s diverse talent base is rich; ensuring equitable access and keeping talent rooted locally will be critical.
  
• Scaling Local Innovation Globally: BVX provides the stage, but startups must connect to global markets, investors, and supply chains to thrive.
  

BVZ: Founder-First, Community-Driven

At its core, BVZ exists to level the playing field for early-stage tech founders —those who often lack access to networks, mentors, or capital. Supported by its partnership with the City of Brampton, BVZ ensures that the benefits of innovation—jobs, growth, and solutions in health and wellness—are felt first and foremost within the community, while equipping ventures to expand globally.

BVZ + BVX: Bold Ventures, Stronger Community

Together, BVX as the showcase and BVZ as the engine are redefining Brampton’s role in Canada’s innovation map.

• BVX offers the stage for big ideas and connections—where investors, entrepreneurs, and the community come together.

• BVZ drives the behind-the-scenes growth—providing year-round support, mentorship, and incubator programs for early-stage startups.

• As BVZ and TMU strengthen their partnership with the City of Brampton, the message is clear: Brampton’s innovation story is not just beginning—it’s accelerating.

Startups & Founders: Learn more about BVZ programs here

Entrepreneurs & Readers: Subscribe to CanadianSME Magazine for ongoing stories of Canadian innovation.

CanadianSME

With an aim to contribute to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging a firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.

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