What if stories could shape not only how children learn, but who they become?
More than a decade ago, Ami Shah and her childhood best friend set out to answer that question. Their idea was to help children develop empathy, resilience and the social and emotional skills they would need throughout life. What began as a physical subscription-box business has since evolved into Peekapak, an award-winning education technology company and wellbeing platform reaching more than 1.1 million students and educators across over 90 countries.
Today, as Co-Founder and CEO, Ami is working to make social-emotional learning (SEL) a more integral part of education, helping schools prepare students not only for academic success, but also for the relationships, challenges and opportunities they will encounter beyond the classroom.
Her journey began with firsthand experience as a teacher in K–4 classrooms. There, Ami witnessed how social-emotional learning could influence children’s confidence, relationships and ability to navigate challenges. The experience helped shape her vision for Peekapak: giving educators practical, engaging ways to nurture these skills as part of everyday teaching, rather than treating wellbeing as an occasional classroom activity.
Drawing on her background in teaching, marketing and social enterprise, Ami helped grow Peekapak from its early subscription-box model into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform supporting schools, educators, students and families. Its approach combines story-based lessons, interactive learning experiences, wellbeing measurement and family resources to help schools integrate social-emotional learning into their wider education framework.
Making wellbeing part of the UAE’s education conversation
The UAE has become an important market in Peekapak’s international growth. The company operates across the United States, Canada and the UAE, where it works with schools and education organisations to support student wellbeing, character development and future-ready skills.
In 2023, Peekapak was one of six global companies selected by Abu Dhabi’s Early Childhood Authority (ECA) for its Anjal Z programme, which supports the localisation of solutions addressing early childhood development challenges across Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the wider Middle East. The company has also received support from innovation and funding organisations including the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), alongside international accelerator and investment partners.
Through partnerships in the UAE, Peekapak is helping schools bring together student learning, educator development and family engagement to create more sustainable approaches to wellbeing. Its work includes supporting schools in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain, with programmes designed to help educators strengthen school cultures while developing students’ emotional awareness, resilience, communication and collaboration skills.
One of the company’s key UAE initiatives is its expanded partnership with the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation under the Takween Al Ghurair programme. For the 2026–27 academic year, the partnership aims to reach more than 25,000 Emirati students, educators and families, following a reach of nearly 8,600 students during 2025–26. The approach gives schools greater ownership of wellbeing delivery through trained school Wellbeing Leads, educator development and family engagement.
For Ami, this reflects a wider ambition: to move beyond individual wellbeing programmes and help schools build the knowledge, confidence and structures needed to make social-emotional learning part of everyday school life.
Bringing education, entrepreneurship and social impact together
Before co-founding Peekapak, Ami gained experience across social enterprise organisations in Vietnam, India and Canada, gaining exposure to the diverse challenges facing communities and the potential of entrepreneurship to create positive change. She also began her professional career at Procter & Gamble, where she developed her expertise in marketing, consumer behaviour and brand management, ranking in the company’s top 10%.
Ami holds an MBA from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her combination of classroom experience, business training and social-impact work informs her approach to building education solutions that can scale while remaining grounded in the needs of students and educators.
Her work has earned recognition across entrepreneurship, education and innovation. In 2022, she received the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award from Women of Influence. She is also a TEDx speaker and has presented at conferences including SXSWedu and the International Literacy Association Conference.
Under her leadership, Peekapak has received a range of industry recognitions, including District Administration’s 2024 Top EdTech Product award in the Curriculum and Instruction category. The company was also a finalist in the 2025 GESS Awards and 2025 Mentl Awards. Its wider recognition includes an EdTech Awards win in 2024 and a product certification from Digital Promise for research-based instructional learning design.
Peekapak’s work and expertise have been featured in publications and media outlets including Forbes, Entrepreneur, EdSurge, Edutopia, BetaKit, CBC and the Toronto Star. The company has also established research partnerships with Denver Public Schools, Elizabeth Public Schools and Mile High Early Learning.
Looking ahead, Ami is focused on expanding Peekapak’s reach across the GCC and internationally, helping more schools integrate social-emotional learning into their approach to education. As technology continues to reshape how children learn and how the future workforce develops, her work centres on a fundamental question: how can education prepare young people not just to use new technologies, but to become resilient, empathetic and capable individuals?
Outside of her professional work, Ami finds joy in photography and enjoys spending quality time with her husband and 3-year-old.
