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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15 listing found

AgeWatch Africa Foundation

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
Women owned / led: Not women owned or led
For more information, download the full
business profile here

About the organization: AgeWatch Africa Foundation (AAF) is a non-profit social enterprise whose mission is to provide compassionate and high-quality care to the elderly in rural Kenya. AAF provides a variety of care services including home care, group day-care, palliative care and a full-service residential care facility. AAF’s customers include economically disadvantaged, those in poor health, people living with disability, and those living alone.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
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
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward, Reduce, Redistribute

Brightgreen renewable energy

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: Brightgreen Renewable Energy produces and distributes safe and smokeless charcoal made from recycled urban waste. This for-profit company is operational in Kenya. It delivers clean and sustainable energy to customers through B2B and B2B2C models. The company aims to reduce the costs associated with cooking by up to 50% and reduce the reliance of African households on wood fuel. This in turn reduces the drudgery associated with wood collection and cooking for many African women.
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

CarePlus Ghana

Headquarters: Ghana

Country of Operations: Ghana
Women owned / led: Information not available
About the organization: CarePlus Ghana is a home & family care and support agency that specialises in providing personalised at-home and community care and support services. It specializes in providing care services for people living with disability, the elderly and children. It is a for-profit company based in Ghana that reduces the burden of care-work on famiy members, predominantly women.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: “Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above)
Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons)
Child-care (Ages 1 to 5)
Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Care for people with illnesses
Domestic services”
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Imvubu Projects Pty Ltd trading as Hippo Roller

Headquarters: South Africa

Country of Operations: Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and most sub-saharan African countries
Women owned / led: None
For more information, download the full
business profile here

 
About the organization: Imvubu Projects is a for-profit enterprise trading as Hippo roller. The rollers are an appropriate technology solution designed for tough rural conditions where access to water and water infrastructure is unstable. The rollers are used to transport more water using minimal effort. This reduces the care work undertaken mostly by women, children, and the elderly. Hippo roller’s capacity of 90 Liters provides adequate water for least 2 people to sustain themselves on a daily basis.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Child-care (Ages 6 and above), Elderly-care (Ages 60 and above), Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Koola Waters

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: Koola Water is a for-profit company that focuses on manufacturing, distribution, treatment and packaging of pure drinking water in Kenya. Its products reduce the time spent by women to obtain clean drinking water in rural areas of Kenya.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Domestic services, Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce

Made To Clean Pvt Ltd

Headquarters: Zimbabwe

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

About the organization: Made To Clean is a for-profit company that aims to standardize domestic work in Zimbabwe, by providing training and placements to domestic workers. Through its operations, it seeks to reward domestic workers for their work by increasing their skills.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Reward

Ponaa Briquettes

Headquarters: Ghana

Country of Operations: Ghana
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: Ponaa Briquettes is a for-profit social enterprise that provides clean cooking solutions in Ghana. The company recycles agricultural waste such as rice husks into clean smokeless charcoal briquette as alternative to wood fuel for cooking. It offers affordable cooking solutions to reduce amount of time spent on care and domestic work. Additionaly, the business model supports waste management by converting bio-waste into valuable household fuel. Every year the enterprise recycles 10,000 tones of rice husk into briquettes
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

Powerstove Energy

Headquarters: Nigeria

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

About the organization: Powerstove Energy is a social enterprise based in Nigeria that provides cookstoves and biomass pellets for clean household cooking. The company offers pay as you go cook financing for purchasing cookstoves. The product reduces the amount of time that is spent in cooking and saves labour in collecting of wood. Powerstoves have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2,660,000 tons of carbon (a single Powerstove saves roughly 5 tons Co2 per annum), contributing to global efforts to mitigate climate change.
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

Strong Start

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
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: Strong Start is a for-profit company that provides caregivers and domestic staff in Kenya with technical skills training in early childhood development, household management, self advocacy and job search training. It connects with caregivers and domestic staff through community micropods and blended trainings to support them in advancing their technical and advocacy skills at their workplaces. The enterprise has trained 144 caregivers via live blended trainings and worked with 634 caregivers in micropod & playgroup programs. The company’s services not only reduce the burden of care work but also upskill caregivers and domestic workers.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
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

Sustainable Energy Technologies Limited (SETECH)

Headquarters: Ghana

Country of Operations: Ghana
Women owned / led: At least 30% women in senior leadership positions
For more information, download the full
business profile here

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

The Baby Lounge

Headquarters: Nigeria

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

About the organization: The Baby Lounge is an end-to-end childcare service solutions provider in Nigeria. This for-profit company offers weekend care, after school home assistance and tutoring, office care and in-house childcare services for working parents of infants, toddlers and young children.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Child-care (Ages 1 to 5), Child-care (Ages 6 and above)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable services that provide care & domestic work
Pathway to impact: Redistribute, Reduce, Reward

Through My Eyes

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
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: Through My Eyes is a social enterprise that trains and accredits caregivers to serve children with special needs. Once caregivers have been contracted, they go through daily inspections to ensure they are presentable and in the most positive state of mind. The trainings are categorized according to the diagnosis and the specific needs of the children. Through My Eyes rewards the accredited caregivers with better placement opportunities on mastering the art of caregiving. The enterprise’s services reduce the burden of care work and improve skills of caregivers.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Care for persons with special needs (disabled / differently abled persons)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Reduce

USAFI GREEN ENERGY LIMITED

Headquarters: Kenya

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

 
About the organization: Usafi Green Energy Limited is a for-profit company that manufactures and distributes cookstoves and biomass briquettes in Kenya. Usafi briquettes are of high carolific value and high heat content therefore make it more viable for household, industrial and institutional use as a fuel. It reduces care work by saving cost and energy. Through the use of the enterprise’s renewable energy products 3 out of 10 trees have been saved and over 4200 households are using the product.
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

Uthabiti Africa

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
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: Uthabiti is a for-profit entity that exists to accelerate early childhood care, education and development (ECCED) in Africa. It accelerates access to quality and affordable childcare services for all. The organization redistributes care and domestic work by coordinate collaboration among childcare actors, facilitates organizing of childcare entrepreneurs and service providers; as well as influences creation of an enabling policy environment that supports child care enterprises and the childcare workforce to thrive. In 2021, the entity has also set up a non-profit entity.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Infant-care (children younger than 1-year), Child-care (Ages 1 to 5)
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve conditions for domestic & care worker
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Reward, Redistribute

Wisdom Stoves

Headquarters: Kenya

Country of Operations: Kenya
Women owned / led: At least 30% of women in board of directors
About the organization: Wisdom Stoves is a nonprofit that designs, manufactures and distributes fuel-efficient cook stoves called the Malaika Jiko, empowering women and conserving natural resources. It hugely reduces care work by saving time and allows families to save money on fuel (biomass vs. charcoal, kerosene or propane) and energy spent by women in cooking. In addition lowering the health risks for women and children in Kenya who cook over an open fire. The non-profit greatly reduces destruction of wood growth compared with current methods of charcoal production.
Stage of Growth: Small scale roll-out/Early stage
Types of Services: Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of affordable time and labour saving technology and products
Pathway to impact: Reduce