Project background
Who are we?
We are a consortium of 5 partners conducting a global-scale research project on businesses and investment in the care economy sector in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
The research project will generate high-quality and actionable evidence on the financial viability and social and environmental benefits of businesses operating in the care economy, which is essential for impact investors to make evidence-based decisions on investments that hold potential for combining both business benefits and development gains.
Why is this important?
Innovative market-based solutions to recognize, reward, reduce and redistribute care activities exist, and are increasing. These include the provision of affordable, high-quality child care to underserved communities, workplace solutions for childcare, solutions that improve labour conditions for care economy workers, and time -and labour-saving innovations and technology.
Furthermore, care economy solutions that provide clean energy, water and sanitation, safe and efficient transport, green and affordable housing solutions, and elder-care and child-care facilities have the potential to not only accelerate the transformation of the care economy, but to support transition to a low carbon economy.
However, evidence gaps on the impact and scalability of care economy business models remain. There is limited information on the availability, affordability, and quality of care provision in the global South. To date, only few examples of innovative, affordable, and quality care-related business models with significant growth potential are documented. These gaps in knowledge and evidence undermine the growth and professionalization of the care sector. Our goal is to produce high-quality and actionable evidence to inform impact investors’ decisions and strategic choices.