Catalyzing the care economy in South Africa: Scaling up action for private sector engagement

 

South Africa is currently not on track to meet its National Development Plan 2030 goal of universal access to early childhood development (ECD). Although the responsibility sits within government, the systems required to effectively deliver on ECD services are not in place and the ability of ECD practitioners to access funding both publicly and privately remains a challenge. South Africa’s ECD sector also faces considerable systemic challenges such as complex registration processes, financial capital constraints and amateurism. Despite these barriers, the ECD sector holds triple impact potential: for job creation, for children’s psycho-social development, and for support for the transition of unpaid care workers into the formal workforce.

This project will build on results from earlier IDRC-supported research by exploring additional opportunities for systemic impact within the ECD sector and the broader care economy. Through research and engagement processes, the project will explore transformational public and private sector solutions to ease capital deployment into the ECD sector, improve access to capital and government support for ECD practitioners, streamline administrative processes and explore new delivery systems in South Africa’s care economy.