36 justice-impacted founders launch businesses in Toronto

Thirty-six Black entrepreneurs graduating from Urban Rez Solutions’ Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 program will open new businesses at a public showcase Sept. 12 in Toronto. The event marks the first time the 16-week incubator closes with a trade show, highlighting entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic reintegration for justice-impacted Canadians.

Why it matters: - Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 is designed to move participants beyond employability and into business ownership, with the goal of creating jobs and strengthening communities. - The program targets formerly incarcerated and justice-impacted Black Canadians, a group facing documented barriers to work, training and long-term economic stability. - Nearly four million Canadians live with a criminal record, according to federal government estimates cited by the John Howard Society. - Black Canadians are overrepresented in federal custody and in Ontario community supervision, according to Statistics Canada, the Office of the Correctional Investigator and Correctional Service Canada. - Urban Rez Solutions says entrepreneurship can provide a durable route to economic reintegration, stronger families and safer communities.

What happened: - On Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, graduates of Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 will launch new businesses at the University of Toronto Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, 108 College Street. - The Street Entrepreneurs Showcase and Trade Show is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - The event will feature 36 entrepreneurs, live pitch sessions, product and service demonstrations, and closing remarks with awards recognition. - Attendees will be able to meet founders, place orders, build business relationships and shop from the new businesses. - Summer Young, founder of Sevynn Shades Inc., will return as the 2026 keynote speaker.

The details: - Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 is a 16-week business incubator run by Toronto-based Urban Rez Solutions Social Enterprise. - The 2026 cohort is the third since the program began and the first to end with a public trade show. - The program covers business planning, financial literacy, marketing, e-commerce infrastructure and customer management. - Participants leave with registered businesses, websites, customer management systems and, in many cases, first paying clients. - Urban Rez Solutions is co-led by Co-Executive Directors Roderick Brereton and Farley Flex Nwaigbo. - Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 is funded by the Future Skills Centre through the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program. - The program is also supported by co-hosts Khalil Dorival and Kadaesha Lindsay, both former participants. - Khalil Dorival also serves as a mental health and wellness specialist. - Urban Rez Solutions says it has served more than 500 participants over 22 years of service. - The organization works in workforce development, community safety and prevention. - More information is available at urbanrezsocialenterprise.com. - Urban Rez Solutions’ Instagram account is @urbanrezsolutions.

Between the lines: - The showcase is as much a proof point for the program as it is a sales event. - Farley Flex Nwaigbo framed the event as a public moment where visitors can see founders move from idea to market in 16 weeks. - Noel Baldwin, executive director of the Future Skills Centre, said the pilot offers a chance to study how tailored support affects the entrepreneurial path of justice-impacted Black Canadians. - The featured businesses show the range of sectors the program is trying to open up, from neighborhood services to digital media infrastructure and film production support. - Shianne Nazana Kumar is launching G1gGl3z, a neighborhood laundromat planned for East York after the area has gone two years without one. - Leon Powell is building OTB Entertainment, a blockchain-based royalty collection and distribution platform for independent artists. - Bryan Hood is launching The ReUp.ca, a production logistics and infrastructure company serving Ontario’s film, television, streaming and commercial production industry.

What's next: - Founders will pitch, take orders and seek new business relationships during the Sept. 12 showcase. - Urban Rez Solutions plans to keep using graduates as mentors and co-hosts, signaling a peer-led model that extends beyond the cohort’s 16 weeks. - The event could help determine whether public-facing trade shows become a repeatable final step for future Street Entrepreneurs cohorts. - The Future Skills Centre says the pilot may inform broader efforts to improve training, education and employment outcomes for overlooked Canadians.

The bottom line: - Street Entrepreneurs 3.0 is turning a justice-impacted entrepreneurship program into a public marketplace, with 36 new businesses ready to meet customers in Toronto.