Can Informal Caregivers Solve the Childcare Crisis?

Access to affordable, quality childcare is essential for working families, yet in many cities across Africa, childcare systems remain informal, under-resourced and largely invisible in economic policy.

This document explores how strengthening community-based childcare can unlock opportunities for both children and working mothers. Tiny Totos works with local childcare providers, often women running small home-based daycares, to build safe, sustainable childcare businesses that support early childhood development while enabling mothers to remain in the workforce.

The publication was launched at the Sankalp Africa Summit in Nairobi, a forum where entrepreneurs, investors and researchers came together to discuss how inclusive innovations, including childcare enterprises, can help build stronger and more equitable economies.