Kidogo Mamapreneurs: A Childcare Social-Franchise

Working parents living in Nairobi’s informal settlements have limited options for accessible childcare in their low-income communities. Many are forced to leave their young children (age 0-4) in one of the 3000+ poor quality, unlicensed ‘babycare centres’ throughout the working day given. These children often spend 12-14 hours each day with untrained caregivers in unsafe, unsanitary, and congested environments with limited stimulation and poor nutrition compromising their healthy growth & development. Kidogo is a social enterprise that is improving access to quality, affordable early childhood care in low-income communities. We use an innovative social-franchising model, partnering with entrepreneurial women (mamapreneurs) to start or improve a childcare micro-business for their local community. Our “business in a box” approach provides training, mentorship, a play-based curriculum, and ongoing (technology enabled) quality assurance that can be scaled cost-effectively to ensure millions of young children get the required building blocks to survive and thrive.  

In Nairobi’s informal settlements, there are an estimated 3000+ unlicensed ‘babycare centres’ providing childcare services to low-income working parents with young children. These centres are largely operated by independent micro-entrepreneurs providing care for 12+ hours per day at a nominal fee, and are characterized by inadequate care, unhygienic conditions, neglect or abuse, and poor nutrition. As a result, children in Nairobi’s informal settlements are amongst the unhealthiest nationwide, with nearly half suffering from stunted development significantly reducing their lifelong potential.

Policy makers, funders, and researchers have yet to prioritize the childcare crisis given a lack of understanding and data on the issue. Care for children age 0-4 years tends to fall in-between programs focused on ante-natal health (0-1 years) and pre-school education (5-6 years) and therefore are neglected across the board, but represent a massive opportunity to improve health & development during the vital first 1000 days. Without well-defined licensing procedures and minimum standards in place in Kenya and across East Africa, the quality of childcare services continues to be severely inadequate, putting the future of at least 2.5 million children in urban slums across the region at risk.

Working parents living in Nairobi’s urban informal settlements (slums), where over 60% of the population currently resides, face a difficult decision about where to leave their youngest children (0-4 years) during the working day. In some cases, these children are left at home alone, or in the care of older siblings (typically girls) who are pulled out of school. In the best-case scenario, they resort to using informal ‘babycare centres’ that provide basic supervision for young children for a fee (50¢ - $1/day) representing 10-20% of household income.

In designing our social-franchising model, Kidogo partnered with IDEO.org to conduct human centred design sessions with parents, babycare owners, and the wider community to understand their needs and concerns with the status quo. We've spent the last 3 years, piloting & refining the social franchising model to addressing the poor quality supply of childcare by partnering with both new and existing providers, improving access & quality in line with community needs. 

Kidogo is a social enterprise that seeks to unlock the potential of young children in low-income communities by improving access to quality, affordable Early Childhood Care & Development. Using an innovative social-franchising model, Kidogo partners with entrepreneurial women (who we call our Mamapreneurs) to start or improve a childcare micro-business for their local community. 

First, we begin by mapping each community to identify the existing 'babycare' centres and determining the unmet demand from parents. We invite existing childcare providers, and women interested in starting new centres, to attend an information session to learn more about Kidogo, and introduce them to the idea of becoming a Mamapreneur.  

Providers that are interested in joining our network attend a series of introductory training sessions to learn the basics of Early Childhood Development, entrepreneurship, and our proprietary approach - "The Kidogo Way."  Upon completion, Mamapreneurs are provided with regular coaching visits, support with facility renovations / set-up, and a 'starter kit' with operating manuals, curriculum materials, and a Mamapreneur App to help them manage their centre. Mamapreneurs can continue to access ongoing professional development opportunities, and participate in a community of practice including peer-to-peer mentoring to ensure continuous improvement and ownership in the program. 

At regular intervals, Kidogo conducts quality assurance visits to all centres, and uses mobile-technology to collect basic information & assess quality across a number of dimensions. These visits ensure that children within the centres are getting quality, holistic care, and that parents have peace of mind for their child's health & safety. Centres that consistently meet the quality standards may qualify to become a Kidogo branded franchise, or for other incentive programs. 

Looking forward, as Kidogo continues to scale its network in Nairobi and beyond, we are building a centralized dashboard to collect data from the Mamapreneur App and quality assurance visits that will provide a real-time heat-map of the enrollment, quality, and needs of thousands of childcare centres in the region. We aim to use this platform and data to inform better policies, research & practice at all levels, and mobilize new resources to the sector. For example, we can target nutritional supplements to centres with malnourished children, or allocate a subsidy to Mamapreneurs that provide consistent quality care. Ultimately, we believe that this model can be scaled cost-effectively to ensure millions of young children get the required building blocks to survive and thrive during their vital early years.