Kidogo - quality childcare through social franchising

Solution Pitch

The Problem

Globally, 350 million children lack access to quality childcare. In Kenya’s informal settlements, where 60% of the urban population lives, there is a childcare crisis. When a child spends their essential early years in an unsafe, unhealthy environment, they enter primary school with cognitive, emotional, and physical deficits.

The Solution

Kidogo is a social enterprise that improves access to quality, affordable early childhood care and education in East Africa's under-resourced communities. Kidogo uses an innovative social franchising approach to identify, train, and support female entrepreneurs (Mamapreneurs) to start or grow childcare micro-businesses.

Kidogo’s network of Mamapreneurs provides quality childcare & early childhood services in their local communities for an affordable fee - each daycare is profitable and self-sustaining. This enables children to receive nutrition, stimulation, and play-based interactions during their essential first five years of life when 90% of brain development occurs.

Over eight years, Kidogo has become the largest childcare network in Kenya with 600+ franchised Kidogo Mamapreneurs serving ~13,000 children. Each direct impact on a child has an indirect multiplier effect of three due to an improved household impact on mothers and older siblings.

Stats

• There are almost 14,000 Mamapreneurs and children they care for in Mamapreneur centers.

• In 2022 so far, over 160 children with severe malnutrition were either given supplements or referred to the health facility for further nutrition support as a result of the solution.

Market Opportunity

Kidogo focuses on under-resourced, urban areas where mothers are working and children 0-3 are in informal childcare centers. This segment is most vulnerable to poor early childhood care and lack of childcare policies. In Nairobi there are 4,000 informal daycares where parents pay $1 per day.

Organization Highlights

• Partnership with Kisumu County Vocational Training Centres: Kidogo partners with the centers to provide childcare, enabling young mothers to receive an uninterrupted education.

• World Vision: Kidogo is expanding its model to Ethiopia to support a World Vision Women’s Economic Empowerment initiative.

• African Population Health Research Centre (APHRC): A research project in Kenya to examine the impact of Kidogo’s model on women’s economic and labor participation outcomes in Nakuru county.

• African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF): Through AECF Kidogo has expanded to the Kakuma Kalobeyei Refugee Camp.

• UNICEF Kenya: Kidogo is providing technical support with curriculum development and training in baby and childcare facilities.

Partnership Goals

Kidogo seeks:

• Expansion of market reach and internal team 

• Technology to increase efficiency

• Increased visibility and fundraising

• Review and support in defining impact metrics