Founded in 2014, Kidogo is a rapidly growing non-profit social enterprise with a mission to unlock the potential of young children in East Africa’s low-income communities through quality, affordable, early childhood care & education. 

The science is clear: 90% of brain development takes place in the first 5 years of life, with the most critical gains seen in the first thousand days of life. And yet, the majority of young children in the earliest years (0-3 years old) are left in undesirable conditions, particularly in urban informal settlements (slums), when mothers need to work. This leads to children entering school with poor developmental outcomes (health, cognitive, socio-emotional) and being locked in the poverty cycle.

Kidogo exists to ensure young children, regardless of where they are born, are able to reach their full potential. We translate global research & best practices into fun and engaging activities for babies and toddlers that can be implemented at scale in community childcare settings. 

Using an innovative social-franchising model, we equip women (“Mamapreneurs”) with the knowledge, skills and tools to start or grow thriving childcare micro-businesses serving their local community. Kidogo is currently the leading childcare network in Kenya, with over 500 childcare centres directly transforming the lives of over 10,000 young children in 31 communities in 7 counties. We are currently testing a partnerships model, where we extend the franchise model in collaboration with actors such as employers or local government. Some notable successes have been: childcare at vocational training centres in partnership with Kisumu County, childcare at female prisons in partnership with Cleanstart (NGO), and providing technical assistance to other large, civil society organisations.