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
Lovecare
Website: lovecare.id
Headquarters: Indonesia
Country of Operations: Indonesia
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: Lovecare is for-profit entity that provides child and elderly care services in Vietnam through a care matching and reservation system that connects families and caregivers. It increases access to work for caregivers, thus rewarding their efforts. The services also increases access to quality of care service for families, which reduces time spent on care work.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: “Care for people with illnesses, Child-care (Ages 1 to 5)
Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above)”
Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above)”
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Redistribute
Mi Dulce Hogar
Website: www.midulcehogar.mx
Headquarters: Mexico
Country of Operations: Mexico
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women
About the organization: Mi Dulce Hogar provides formal jobs for domestic workers in Mexico through a quick and efficient hiring process to recruit reliable keepers and cleaners. Mi Dulce Hogar’s work relies on three pillars: safety through a rigorous hiring process, quality training programs, and formal jobs that provide legal and social benefits. Their objective is to connect and formalize as many employees ad they can.
Stage of Growth: Established/Mature
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 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
Nazava Water Filters
Website: www.nazava.com
Headquarters: Indonesia
Country of Operations: Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya
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
About the organization: Nazava is a for-profit enterprise that produces affordable gravity based ceramic household water filters, replacing the need to boil water on wood or LPG. It reduces care work as women save 139 hours per year on boiling and collecting fuel using the water filters. Nazava purified water is 3 times cheaper than boiling and 9 times cheaper than buying water from refill-kiosks.
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
OneSky
Website: www.onesky.org
Headquarters: United States of America
Country of Operations: Vietnam, China, Mongolia
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women, At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: Onesky is a non-profit that trains women operating daycares out of their homes in Vietnam’s industrial zones. These daycares serve children of women labouring in nearby factories who do not have access to quality care for their children. It empowers caregivers to establish a responsive relationship with children and create a safe and nurturing learning environment, thereby redistributing care and domestic work whereby young mothers leave their children in the care of onesky trainees to pursue employment or education. Onesky has trained over 75,984 caregivers and impacted 247,753 children.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Child-care (Ages 1 to 5)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward
Oolu
Website: oolusolar.com
Headquarters: Senegal
Country of Operations: Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon
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
About the organization: Oolu Solar is a for-profit company that provides affordable solar home systems to rural households in Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso. These solar home systems provide households with brighter, more efficient lights and in-home chargers at a small fraction of their standard monthly energy expenditure. Its products have helped reduce and eliminate the need for rural people to travel kilometers to nearby electrified villages to charge their phones. Lighting from the solar home systems allows children to study an average of one to two hours longer each night. The company has sold over 60,000 solar home systems to customers in the region. 91% of solar light users who previously used kerosene lamps experienced an improvement in their health.
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
Paz Mental
Website: www.pazmental.mx
Headquarters: Mexico
Country of Operations: Mexico
Women owned / led: At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: Paz Mental is a company with a team of professionals committed to improving the lives of adults with physical or cognitive impairments. Their mission is to help and give peace of mind to family members of dependent adults, the caregivers who support them, and the physicians who care for seniors. Paz Mental aims to impact the quality of life for the elderly by providing high-quality services and excellent working conditions to caregivers.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), 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: Recognize, Reward, Redistribute
Pillar Health Sdn Bhd
Website: www.pillarcare.com
Headquarters: Malaysia
Country of Operations: Malaysia
Women owned / led: At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: Pillar Health Sdn Bhd is a for-profit company that provides caregiver services, caregiver training and technology for care providers in Malaysia. The company helps families find the best elderly care services and products they need in the fast, transparent and convenient way. Pillar Health is a network of elderly home care professionals, and related service and product providers. The company also provides skilling for the care givers and redistributes the care work burden for households.
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 technology, services & policies/practice that improve condition for domestic & care worker (e.g. apps that calculate decent remuneration)
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Redistribute
Prosperia
Website: es.prosperia.health
Headquarters: Mexico
Country of Operations: Mexico
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women
About the organization: PROSPERIA is a social impact spin-off from the MIT Media Lab created to massify early detection and treatment of chronic diseases in emerging markets through solutions based on Artificial Intelligence
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: 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: Redistribute
Sustainable Energy Technologies Limited (SETECH)
Website: setechghana.com
Headquarters: Ghana
Country of Operations: Ghana
Women owned / led: At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: SETECH is a for-profit entity based in Ghana that provides clean cooking and solar lighting solutions to households and women dominated agro-industries in rural and peri-urban communities. It not only reduces the time spent by women and girls on sourcing fuel for cooking but also contributes to reduced energy expenditures.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
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
UGOGO
Website: ugogo.co
Headquarters: Argentina
Country of Operations: Argentina
Women owned / led: At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
About the organization: Ugogo is a technology-enabled home care provider that uses digital and artificial intelligence to improve elderly care services in Latam. Ugogo offers technology-based tools for patient history and personalized care plans drawn up by professionals, among others. They aim to change the care culture and raise awareness around caregivers’ burnout while improving the quality of life of the elderly and their families.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above)
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 services that provide care & domestic work (e.g. affordable daycare services in rural areas)
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute
Yana
Website: yana.com.mx
Headquarters: Mexico
Country of Operations: Mexico
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women
About the organization: Yana is an application that provides access to mental health tools to millions of Spanish-speaking users around the world. Yana accompanies people on their path to emotional well-being through strategies based on CBT.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: 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: Redistribute