The Children's Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. The largest entrepreneurship event for kids in North America (with over 250 fairs worldwide!), this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.

We are excited to give children and youth under 17 the opportunity to be entrepreneurs - boosting their confidence, teaching valuable lessons, and giving them an experience they will never forget.

We will accept up to 72 businesses (60 product/service businesses and 12 food/beverage businesses).

Applications will be approved on an ongoing basis and will be processed weekly. Expect a 1-2 day wait to hear back regarding your application.

We will be looking at the following elements of your application and basing our approval on them.

Applications must be submitted online, through this website. Please submit one application for each business. Children working as a group should submit one application that includes each child’s information. No more than 3 participants per business.

Please make sure to answer the questions with as much detail as possible, and ensure that the form is complete before submitting it.

Yes, the cost to participate is $20 - the kidpreneur and parents each pay a portion of the total cost.

Kidpreneurs are required to pay $10 to secure a booth as part of their investment into their business. This investment is part of the authentic experience we are aiming to create for our kidpreneurs! 

Parents are asked to contribute $10 towards the fair. This contribution allows us to provide the best possible experience for the kidpreneurs!

If your application is approved, the non-refundable vendor participation fee (total $20) must be paid within 7 days of acceptance into the fair by way of email money transfer. 

Unfortunately, we will not be accepting anyone 18 years or older.

Please note that kidpreneurs must be able to participate in a busy and tiring full-day event, which is approximately 7 hours long (set up, selling and takedown). 

If this is too long or too much for your kidpreneur, please wait to apply when they are older and able to fully participate. 

If you have a child under 7, we recommend they pair with an older child or we will allow 1 parent or guardian to sit behind the booth. 

Otherwise, this is a kidpreneur event and only children under 17 should be behind the booth.

The application asks kidpreneurs to think through some simple, but important elements of their business:

There are so many great ideas out there! Check out these 4 websites for some DIY ideas (with how-to's) and we've put together a list of suggestions below. 

Father's Day is the following weekend in case that helps!

Yes! We are committed to keeping your personal information (such as your full name, email address, school, phone number etc.) private and will not share such information with any third party. This information is only for internal purposes.

Yes! The event will be documented by a professional photographer and a professional videographer and the resulting digital media will be used to market the event and share its success with the community and the world! 

By applying for a booth at the fair, parents are thereby agreeing to allow the Waterloo Region Children's Business Fair permission to photograph and film their Child(ren) and use the resulting digital media at our discretion without compensation. 

Some children will be selected for interviews by the filmmaker or news media at the fair and will have the choice to take part or decline to speak in front of the camera. 

It depends! We will allow multiple businesses in certain categories such as art and jewelry, where the products will likely be very different and unique. We will limit other businesses (ex. Lemonade stand) to two, depending on the nature of the product or service. The sooner you apply, the better chance you have of securing your idea!

Yes! You may sell non-hazardous food items that do not support the growth of disease-causing microorganisms. Examples include dry goods and cereals, baked goods, cookies, bread, potato chips, popcorn and candy. 

In order to be approved as a food business, you are required to go through a secondary application through Waterloo Region Public Health. There is additional paperwork required and they have the right to approve or decline any applications. Only businesses approved by Public Health can sell food/beverages at the fair. 

Food/beverage businesses apply through our application form first. We will provide detailed information on how to move on to the second step in the process and apply through Public Health. 

Each business will be given a booth with an 8-foot table and one chair per kidpreneur. 

We have a select number of booths that can access an outlet.

Unsure where to start? Our advice is to keep it simple.

First, think about what you can make with your own hands that others might enjoy. Next, picture how you might sell it. Finally, imagine the feeling (and responsibility) of having a little extra spending money as a result!

If you are accepted to the fair, we will provide you with a list of resources to get you started.

Feel free to do some research online about marketing, branding and profit. Explore examples of great product pitches, learn about interacting with customers, and get down to business creating your product or developing your service and putting the details together for your booth! Try practicing your pitch and customer service skills for family and friends at home! 

You'll learn the most by getting your "hands dirty" and figuring things out all on your own.

Our goal is to create as small of a carbon footprint as possible! We are not permitting the use of single-use plastics at the fair this year and we are asking kidpreneurs to consider other ways they can be friendly to the environment while operating their businesses. 

I would like to sponsor. What can I do?
Please email Megan at cbf@ignitelearning.ca or review our package. We also have the option to include items in our swag bag for the Kidpreneurs.

I would like to volunteer. How do I get started?
Please fill out this form and someone will get back to you.

Jeff and Laura Sandefer, owners of Acton Academy, and a few other families wanted to spark a sense of wonder and entrepreneurship in their children so they created the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in Austin, Texas, in 2007. That year, there were seven entrepreneurs and around 25 attendees. Now, there are over 115 entrepreneurs and 1,500 attendees at the Acton Children's Business Fair in Austin, and over 250 separate fairs all around the world.  

Acton Children's Business Fair is the philanthropy arm of the Acton Academy and Acton MBA programs. The purpose of the philanthropy is to promote entrepreneurial skills among children and to help them find their personal mission in life.