Uthabiti Africa
Organization Details
Uthabiti Africa is a Kenyan non-profit social enterprise that aims to improve access to quality and affordable childcare. It is a childcare ecosystem builder and market facilitator that works with a wide range of stakeholders, including: national and county governments, foundations, local organizations, enterprises, and childcare workers. The enterprise aims to create strategic partnerships and catalyze change in the childcare ecosystem. The enterprise’s work focuses on identifying and organizing childcare workers by enhancing their access to training and certifications, while also linking them with job opportunities through apps. Furthermore, the enterprise provides acceleration support to women-led childcare enterprises via training and enhanced access to finance. Uthabiti Africa works towards influencing policy and regulations by generating data and highlighting the needs and challenges of the predominantly female workforce.
Impact Story
The enterprise aims to create an enabling policy environment that supports childcare enterprises and their workforce. In 2021, Uthabiti engaged with 150 policymakers from Kenya's national and county governments. It has a network of 7,000 caregivers that have provided care to 96,967 children.
● Workforce development: The enterprise has built a network childcare workers called the Uthabiti Women in Childcare Network. It provides access to training, financial services, and job opportunities. Uthabiti has also created a savings and credit co-operative society (SACCO), with the aim to provide access to financial services to workers. In the future, it aims to conduct certified training programs either in-house or through partner organizations. Uthabiti currently has 7,000 members in its network.
● Acceleration of women-led enterprises: During the pilot phase, Uthabiti Africa conducted extensive research by engaging with childcare providers (informal and formal daycare entrepreneurs, typically women-led) to understand their key challenges. Learnings were used to develop solutions to improve efficiency and service quality. R
● Collaboration and learning: Uthabiti set up learning networks to offer stakeholders in the childhood care sector an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned. The enterprise established the Collaborative Action for Childcare (CAC) initiative.
● Policy and regulatory reform: The enterprise advocates for policy and regulatory reforms by generating data[2] and deepening knowledge of the actors in the childcare sector, to build an enabling ecosystem for childcare enterprises and the workforce. The enterprise has already engaged with 5 county governments in Kenya.
Diverse Social Enterprise
The TRANSFORM Support Hub is committed to accelerating diverse owned and led enterprises to build more equitable and resilient supply chains.
