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

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27 listing found

Acacia Innovations Ltd

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: Acacia Innovations is a for-profit, women-led social enterprise specializing in the manufacturing and sale of biomass briquettes (branded under Kuni Safi). It reduces care work by saving time, money & energy spent by women in cooking and fuel collection. Acacia manufactures and distributes affordable cookstoves & briquettes, a nearly smokeless alternative to firewood, made of sugarcane waste. The enterprise’s work has helped reduce deforestation and the risk of respiratory illnesses due to indoor air pollution. Acacia’s customers save an average of 35% compared to firewood and 50% compared to charcoal.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Labour saving solutions, Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Ace Cambodia

Headquarters: Cambodia

Country of Operations: Cambodia
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: ACE is a for-profit entity with operations in Cambodia, Lesotho and Uganda. The ACE One energy system is an integral energy solution for off-the-grid households in the developing world. It provides a device that uses a combination of thermal and electric generation to provide a clean, smokeless cooking experience for its users, a high quality solar-biomass hybrid enabling users to cook using significantly less fuel and offers access to electricity for mobile charging and lighting. The entity’s product helps reduce harmful indoor smoke emissions which can cause significant health problems and reduces the drudgery associated with care work.
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 (e.g. product that makes washing, cooking more efficient)
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Ayasan

Headquarters: Thailand

Country of Operations: Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos
Women owned / led: 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: Ayasan is a for-profit company that provides personnel for housework and care work to its customers. It is operational in Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Thailand and provides personnel for a range of services, such as nannies, tutors, chauffeurs, and caregivers to the elderly. It also provides upskilling and certification to care-givers and provides them opportunities for continued employment.
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
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Reward

BBOXX Ltd

Headquarters: United Kingdom

Country of Operations: Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Pakistan, DRC, Togo, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Rwanda, Burkina Faso
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: BBOXX provides affordable, reliable, and clean electricity and other utility services to those who are living without them. It designs, manufactures, distributes and finances decentralised energy solutions. It is a for-profit company that operates in 11 countries in Asia and Africa. It has provided clean, reliable and affordable electricity to households, communities and businesses. The services provided by BBOXX have improved the quality of life for millions of customers, especially women and children, by providing them access to lighting.
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

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

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

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

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

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

I.A.B. – Institut Academic of Babies

Headquarters: Senegal

Country of Operations: Senegal
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman, At least 51% owned by women, 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: I.A.B is a social business that trains care workers in early childhood care. In Senegal, day care centers are not regulated and there is no school that is specifically focused on training related early childhood. As a result, children are less likely to go to nurseries. Through it’s training programs I.A.B has increased the skills of childcare workers, resulting in higher incomes for these workers. I.A.B’s impact includes improved health conditions among toddlers, decent work opportunties for care workers, and increased productivity of parents who are assured that the care and development of their children is in expert hands.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Infant-care (children younger than 1-year), Child-care (Ages 1 to 5), Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward

Jazza Centre Limited

Headquarters: Kenya

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

 
About the organization: Jazza Centre is a for-profit social enterprise that trains and places domestic workers in Kenya. The enterprise formalizes the employment process for domestic workers by ensuring that domestic workers and employers sign employment contracts. Jazza Centre increases recognition and reward for domestic workers by negotiating fair terms of employment and skill development. It reduces the burden of care work in households through provision of trained domestic workers.
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), Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve conditions for domestic & care worker
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward, Redistribute

Kidogo

Headquarters: Kenya

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

About the organization: Kidogo is a non-profit social enterprise that improves access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care & education in Kenya’s low-income communities. Kidogo supports women entrepreneurs to initiate or improve the quality of their own, community-based childcare micro-businesses. Kidogo reduces care work as parents have access to quality childcare service at the centres. 82% of Kidogo kids hit developmental goals. Kidogo kids receive health and nutrition interventions, that have also led to a 41% reduction in stunting.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
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: Recognize, Reward, Redistribute

Komodo Water

Headquarters: Indonesia

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

About the organization: Komodo is a for-profit entity that provides clean and affordable drinking water in villages of Indonesia. The entity’s services reduces the time spent on collecting clean water in rural regions.
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: Redistribute, Reduce

LivelyHoods Kenya

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: 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
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: Livelyhoods Kenya is a non-profit social enterprise that provides last-mile distribution of essential items in slum communities of Kenya. Livelyhoods Kenya trains women who work as sales agents in the community. Through its intervention, Livelyhoods has enabled women to purchase products that have reduced their care work, including cookstove and solar lights. Adoption of these products has reduced household expenditures and drudgery for women.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services, Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Reduce, Reward

mDoc Healthcare

Headquarters: Nigeria

Country of Operations: Nigeria
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: mDoc is a digital health company focused on providing people living with chronic disease with 24/7 access to integrated care support in sub-Saharan Africa. This for-profit company reduces the time spent on care work by supporting people with illnesses to manage their health.
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
Pathway to impact: Reduce

MyNurz

Website: mynurz.com
Headquarters: Indonesia

Country of Operations: Indonesia, Thailand
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: MyNurz is a for-profit company that provides home care health services in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Its services consist of non-hospital care, care training and advisory services, through provision of nurses (specialist and general, practical nurse, nurse aides), physical, occupational and speech therapists. It reduces the care work undertaken by households through provision of home care providers. The company has completed over 40,000 caregiving sessions.
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 technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Nazava Water Filters

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
For more information, download the full
business profile here

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

Oolu

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