Grow ECD is celebrating 10 years of positive impact! Focused on supporting early childhood development centres with business skills, teacher training and holistic programmes, they are making a difference for the next generation!
South Africa (30 August 2024) — Grow ECD, a South African non-profit social enterprise, is celebrating a decade of positive impact in the Early Childhood Development sector of South Africa!
Beginning in 2014, GROW ECD started out as a dream to transform the support ECD centres received. With the education and interactions children have before the age of five being a hugely important phase in their lives, the founders of Grow ECD were determined to be the helping hands South Africa’s ECD centres needed as the guardians of this chapter.
What was at once a dream would eventually translate into a reality. Now, Grow offers fantastic resources for teachers, integrating holistic approaches to early education and helping ECD centres manage their very complicated but ever-rewarding worlds.
Co-founder Tracey Chambers reflects:
“Our vision has been to facilitate quality 5-star early learning to every 0-5 year old child in every neighbourhood. This is so that every child has the foundation they need to fulfil their potential. We have learned many important lessons along the way.”
She adds, “We achieved many milestones and received local and international recognition along the way. However, the most important thing was learning and understanding exactly what it takes to operate a financially sustainable ECD business that provides consistent quality education. This tested and successful model is what Grow offers their ECD centre partners today.”
Today, hundreds of centres continue to join Grow’s programmes, benefiting thousands of teachers and little ones from free training resources for teachers to business information, low-cost finance services and other practical tools necessary to run a centre.
“By 2030, we aim to have 220,000 young children thriving and ready for Grade R, and 50,000 children benefitting from our programme daily,” says Tracey.
Grow are the helpers in key areas that ECD owners (who are often overworked and underresourced, pouring their own means to make their centres flourish) cannot delegate time to.
“These people are dedicated, resilient and committed to the next generation but it is not easy,” Tracey informs, adding that “ECD centres are complex small businesses. Their daily running involves HR, labour law, health and safety, marketing and all the other aspects of doing business in a highly regulated and high-risk sector…We have realised that most ECD owners have a heart for children but need support to develop their ‘head’ for business, this balance is crucial to their success.”
Reflecting on lessons learned, Tracey shares that collaboration is key.
“Our decade in the ECD sector has exposed us to many passionate, purpose-driven organisations. Our partnerships across the private and public sectors have proven that when we work together, we achieve more.”
“I am so proud of what we’ve accomplished but, at Grow ECD, we know the work is far from over…to the centre owners, teachers, parents, partners and supporters who have been part of our journey—I thank you. Together we are not just growing ECD centres; we are growing futures, one child at a time.”
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