2023-2026

Quality Childcare in Kenya’s Slums

2023-2026

Kidogo

Kidogo is a social enterprise that improves access to affordable, quality early childhood care and education in East Africa’s low-income communities. Kidogo equips women (“Mamapreneurs”) with the knowledge, skills and support tools to start or grow their own childcare micro-businesses. Since 2014, it has built the largest childcare network in Kenya, reaching over 18,000 children aged up to 5 years across 8 counties in Kenya every day. We’re funding Kidogo to scale their model to benefit 50,000 children by the end of 2025.

www.kidogo.co

CHALLENGE

Women in Nairobi’s informal settlements have three childcare options for their babies. With little family support available, a mother can leave her child at home alone. Or she can have an older sibling - typically a girl - look after her younger sibling, thereby limiting the older daughter’s chances of getting an education. Or she can leave her baby in a crowded unlicensed “baby care” centre where an untrained caregiver provides basic supervision in a very poor and unsanitary environment.

©Karin Schermbrucker/ Cartier Philanthropy

ACTION

Kidogo adopts an innovative social franchising approach in which it first identifies women running informal, poor-quality day care centres. The organisation then trains them in early childhood development, education and entrepreneurship and supports them to become “Mamapreneurs”, improving their own quality childcare & early childhood centres in their local communities, for which they charge an affordable fee.

Kidogo addresses childcare and women empowerment simultaneously, enabling parents to go to work knowing their child is safe and restoring dignity to caregiving by recognising women as educators and business owners.

Kidogo kids receive health and nutrition support, including eggs, that reduce stunting (too short for age) and wasting (underweight for age).