Location: Sub-Saharan Africa

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

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

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

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

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

The Mother Goose Kenya

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
For more information, download the full
business profile here
About the organization: The Mother Goose Kenya is a community-based organization (CBO) that focuses on helping communities improve the quality of child-care focusing on the following themes: empowering women and parents, parenting solutions and quality childcare solutions. The entity’s services reduce the burden of unpaid care work families through provision of domestic workers. Furthermore, the entity also empowers domestic workers by providing trainings and placements.
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), Domestic services
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology & services that train/upskill domestic & care workers
Pathway to impact: Recognize, Redistribute, Redistribute, Reward

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

SweepSouth

Headquarters: South Africa

Country of Operations: South Africa
Women owned / led: Founded by at least one woman
About the organization: SweepSouth is an online home cleaning platform that facilitates the connection between homeowners and cleaning professionals in South Africa. Within a matter of minutes, customers can book a home clean for as early as the next day. This for-profit entity has engaged over 7,000 cleaners and thousands of satisfied customers are being served monthly. On average, domestic workers receive 80% of the booking fee (plus tips) for their services.
Stage of Growth: Mass roll-out/Expansion
Types of Services: Domestic services, Labour saving solutions
Activities in the care economy: Provision of technology, services & policies/practice that improve conditions for domestic & care worker
Pathway to impact: Reward

Solar Sister

Headquarters: United States of America

Country of Operations: Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda
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
About the organization: Solar Sister is a social enterprise that empowers women with economic opportunity and clean energy in Tanzania and Nigeria. It recruits, trains and supports women entrepreneurs to build business around clean energy. It reduces care work through increased access to cookstoves and solar lighting products in communities dependent on poor quality fuel. Solar Sister has reached out to over 3 million people in Africa with solar energy and cookstoves and kickstarted 6,690 entrepreneurs.
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

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

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