We reviewed over 200 businesses worldwide*, and have identified over 165 businesses operating in the care economy across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia who met the following 4 criteria: 
1. Geography focus: operating in project target countries.
2. Care economy impact: business activities recognize, reduce, reward or redistribute care work.
3. Proof of concept: care economy activities at least at the launch stage (none of the businesses are at concept stage).
4. Market-based intervention: already or planning to be financially profitable or to generate income in the medium term.

Out of the mapping we selected 60 businesses to conduct a full profile and showcase potential investment opportunities. These profiles have been created from information and data provided by the business itself. Use the filter on the left to access the businesses profiled.

* Disclaimer: The data presented in the business mapping and profiles is based on information provided by the businesses and has not been independently verified

Filter Your Results

Filters

104 listing found

Best Care

Headquarters: Uruguay

Country of Operations: Uruguay, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Other Countries
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: Best Care’s mission is to improve the quality of people´s lives. Best Care has a network of caregivers in several countries around the world that provides care, assistance, and support services to people, both in hospitalization and at home. Best Care’s commercial models are affordable to all population segments. They offer services with an innovative commercial model, focused on B2B and B2C.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Infant-care (children younger than 1-year), Child-care (Ages 1 to 5), Child-care (Ages 6 and above), Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons), Care for people with illnesses
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers (e.g. technology that links employers to domestic/care workers), Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve condition for domestic & care worker (e.g. apps that calculate decent remuneration), Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products (e.g. product that makes washing, cooking more efficient), Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work (e.g. affordable daycare services in rural areas), Awareness raising on the care economy through marketing, information campaigns & programmes that raise awareness & increase motivation
Pathway to impact:
Redistribute, Reduce, Reward

Bidhaa Sasa

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya, Uganda
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: Bidhaa Sasa is a for-profit company that supplies a range of products to customers in rural communities of Kenya. Its products include solar lamps, systems and radios, efficient cookstoves, LPG cylinders and cooking accessories, as well as water tanks and agricultural tools. More than 70% of the company’s customers are women. Bidha Sasa products enable women to operate in cleaner and safer environments and reduce the drudgery associated with domestic work. The company also provides nano-credit to its customers to make the products affordable.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

bTaskee

Headquarters: Vietnam

Country of Operations: Vietnam, Thailand
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: bTaskee is a for-profit entity that provides a range of cleaning and domestic services in Vietnam. Through bTaskee, households can avail services such as housekeeping, cleaning, cooking, laundry and assistance for groceries. 90% of cleaning workers at bTaskee are women. The entity has enabled 7,000 domestic workers to earn a stable income and served more than 200,000 customers. It has generated more recognition for the dometsic workers in Vietnam.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Recognise

BURN Manufacturing

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Somaliland, Somalia, Tanzania, DRC, South Sudan, Puntland, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi, Australia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Canada, Germany, Ivory Coast, India, Thailand, Malawi
Women owned / led: At least 30% of women in board of directors
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: BURN is a for-profit company that manufactures affordable clean cookstoves for households in sub-Saharan Africa. To date, BURN has sold over 1.2 million stoves. BURN’s cookstoves save money, fuel and time for its customers and help reduce harmful indoor smoke emissions which can cause significant health problems. The company’s products are instrumental in reducing the burden of collecting firewood, which typically falls on women, and potentially exposes them to risk of physical and sexual violence.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

CACEH

Headquarters: Mexico

Country of Operations: Mexico
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women, At least 30% of women in board of directors
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: CACEH (Centro Nacional para la Capacitación Profesional y Liderazgo de las Empleadas del Hogar) is a Mexican non-profit organization founded and led by women who are former household workers. The organization promotes the professionalization of household workers and advocates for their rights.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers (e.g. technology that links employers to domestic/care workers), Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve condition for domestic & care worker (e.g. apps that calculate decent remuneration), Awareness raising on the care economy through marketing, information campaigns & programmes that raise awareness & increase motivation
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward

Casalimpia

Headquarters: Colombia

Country of Operations: Colombia, Other Latin America Countries
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Casalimpia is a Colombian company that employs more than 10,000 people in domestic and office cleaning services. Casalimpia’s social responsibility approach contributes to the well-being and good working conditions of employees while offering a quality service to clients. They aim to provide clients with comprehensive solutions in the provision of domestic, business cleaning and cafeteria services, specialized services, locative technical maintenance, asset management, all of them with high standards of quality and opportunity, rigorously fulfilling their promise of value. Casalimpia is based on efficient processes with cutting-edge technology and a team passionate about service.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
Types of Services: Domestic services, Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve condition for domestic & care worker (e.g. apps that calculate decent remuneration), Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products (e.g. product that makes washing, cooking more efficient)
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Reward, Redistribute

Comfort the aged

Headquarters: Ghana

Country of Operations: Ghana
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Based in Ghana, Comfort For the Aged is a for-profit aged-care home facility that aims to provide care to the elderly and the infirm. It provides at-home services including meal preparation, medication reminders, housekeeping/home management, grocery shopping and errands, thus it reduces the burden on family members, especially women.
Stage of Growth: Launch/Pilot
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Cuidados Dorothea

Headquarters: Colombia

Country of Operations: Colombia
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Cuidados Dorothea offers a platform created to respond to the daily problems of dependent people and older adults. They provide professional nurses and caregivers for people who need special care to achieve an effective recovery and improve their life quality. Cuidados Dorothea focuses on the well-being of people by treating nursing as an essential service, making it easier for people to provide these services.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), Care for people with illnesses
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work (e.g. affordable daycare services in rural areas)
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Redistribute

D.Light

Headquarters: United States of America

Country of Operations: Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, India
Women owned / led: None
About the organization: d.light is a for-profit company that provides affordable solar-powered solutions for households and small businesses in developing countries. Through its hubs in Africa, China, South Asia and the United States, d.light has sold over 20 million solar light and power products in 70 countries. Its solar lanterns and solar home systems provide brighter and safer environment for households, improving quality of life for its consumers, especially women. Its products result in reduced energy expenditure for household and businesses.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Drinkwell

Headquarters: United States of America

Country of Operations: Bangladesh, India
Women owned / led: None
About the organization: Drinkwell is a for-profit that provides water infrastructure solutions in Bangladesh and India. Drinkwell provides water filtration systems and ATM dispensing machines that households can use to obtain arsenic- and fluoride-free water. This has reduced time spent on obtaining clean water in low-income households and institutions.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Earlybird Educare

Headquarters: South Africa

Country of Operations: South Africa
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: Earlybird is a social enterprise that seeks to address the shortage of high-quality early childhood development (ECD) services in South Africa. The entity uses multiple delivery channels to provide children from across the socio-economic spectrum with the tools that they need to thrive at school and beyond. Earlybird has helped reduce the career-family trade-off that particularly affects women as 61% of non-working women in South Africa cite ‘family responsibilities’ as the primary factor that curtails their labour force participation.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
Types of Services: Infant-care (children younger than 1-year), Child-care (Ages 1 to 5)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Ecozoom

Website: ecozoom.com
Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Somalia
Women owned / led: None
About the organization: Ecozoom is a for-profit company that designs, manufactures and distributes solar lighting systems and fuel efficient cook stoves. Its products reduce the time spent by women and girls on fuel collection. The cookstoves use less than half the fuel of an open fire or inefficient stove which reduce fuel costs by 70%.This company is headquartered in Kenya and its products have reached customers in 23 countries.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduc

ElleSolaire

Headquarters: Senegal

Country of Operations: Senegal
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: ElleSolaire is a solar social enterprise in Senegal. This non-profit enterprise bridges the gap between international manufacturers of breakthrough solar technologies and those who most need their products in remote off-grid communities. ElleSlaire has developed a woman led distribution network and supply chain for products like solar lamps, home solar systems and clean cookstoves. ElleSolaire’s solutions help reduce the amount of time women spend on domestic work, enable children to study after dark and help families to stay connected by mobile phones. So far, the enterprise has helped over 3,500 people and over 125 children with access to affordable electricity.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Emerging Cooking Solutions Sweden AB

Headquarters: Sweden

Country of Operations: Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 30% women in senior leadership positions, At least 30% of women in board of directors
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: Emerging Cooking Solutions is a for-profit company that manufactures and distributes SupaMoto® clean-burning stoves and biomass cooking fuel for low-income urban families and businesses in Zambia. The company’s products have not only helped reduce the care work undertaken by women in fuel collection but also reduced the fuel cost associated with cooking. Since 2013, the company has reached 20,000 households. For every 2 households that switch from charcoal to pellets, the savings in carbon emissions is 8 tonnes per year.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Enfermeros de tu mano

Headquarters: Colombia

Country of Operations: Colombia
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Enfermeros a tu Mano is a company that has home health services specializing in non-vital emergencies and special care. They have a team of professionals taking care of those who remain in medical-special conditions, both at home and in hospitals.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons), Care for people with illnesses
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work (e.g. affordable daycare services in rural areas)
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Redistribute

Eshururu Training Center (ETC)

Headquarters: Ethiopia

Country of Operations: Ethiopia
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: ElleSolaire is a solar social enterprise in Senegal. This non-profit enterprise bridges the gap between international manufacturers of breakthrough solar technologies and those who most need their products in remote off-grid communities. ElleSlaire has developed a woman led distribution network and supply chain for products like solar lamps, home solar systems and clean cookstoves. ElleSolaire’s solutions help reduce the amount of time women spend on domestic work, enable children to study after dark and help families to stay connected by mobile phones. So far, the enterprise has helped over 3,500 people and over 125 children with access to affordable electricity.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
Types of Services: Infant-care (children younger than 1-year), Child-care (Ages 1 to 5), Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reduce

Estufas Chispa

Headquarters: Guatemala

Country of Operations: Guatemala
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Estufas chispa is a manufacturer of wood stoves located in Guatemala. The stoves, known as Estufas Mejoradas or Estufas Ahorradoras de leña, help Guatemalan families save firewood and live in healthy, smoke-free homes. Estufas Chispa works in partnership with several organizations for its stove projects in Guatemala and has more than 20 points of sale throughout the country.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services, Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers (e.g. technology that links employers to domestic/care workers), Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products (e.g. product that makes washing, cooking more efficient)
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Fair Employment Foundation

Headquarters: Hong Kong

Country of Operations: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
For more information, download the full
business profile here

 
About the organization: Fair Employment Foundation has hybrid model that consists of a social business and a registered charity. It has a recruitment agency that supports fair and transparent international migration of caregivers from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Its non-profit entity provides training programs for domestic workers. Through this hybrid model, it has brought recognition to debt bondage issues within international migration and increased incomes of workers through fair pay.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers, Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward

Falck

Website: www.falck.co
Headquarters: Denmark

Country of Operations: Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, Other Latin America Countries
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: Falck is a leading international provider of ambulances and healthcare services. For more than a century, they have worked with local and national governments to prevent accidents, illnesses, and emergencies. Falck quickly and competently rescue and assist people in emergencies and contributes to their rehabilitation after illness or disease/injury. They are committed to caring for people and society and being there whenever people need assistance.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons), Care for people with illnesses
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work (e.g. affordable daycare services in rural areas)
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Redistribute

First care (Grupo Vita)

Website: firstcare.cl
Headquarters: Chile

Country of Operations: Chile
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: First Care is a company that sells products that contribute to care for people with diseases that require special instruments or products to carry out their daily activities. They offer products such as Clinical Beds, Wheelchairs, Mobility Aids, Bathroom Aids, and other accessories. First Care’s mission is to provide the best products to improve the quality of life of the elderly, people with illnesses, or people with disabilities.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons), Care for people with illnesses
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products (e.g. product that makes washing, cooking more efficient)
Pathway to impact: Reduce