Children at the Center
Kidogo 
envisions a world where every young child’s potential is unlocked through quality, affordable childcare 
, enabling them, their families and future generations to thrive 
.
Built Around Providers
Kidogo works with women already running childcare centres in homes, dedicated spaces and schools.
We call them Mamapreneurs because their work combines the care of a parent with the drive of an entrepreneur. Kidogo helps them strengthen their childcare practice, their businesses, and their professional confidence. Since 2014, Kidogo has supported more than 3,000 childcare providers and reached more than 182,000 children across 12 counties in Kenya.
Big Impact Starts Small
A safer space. A nutritious meal. A caregiver who knows how to respond and help a child learn. These changes happen inside childcare centres every day and have an outsized impact:
94%
of children developmentally on track.
50%
reduction of wasting and underweight in children under 6 months.
90%
of centres meet kidogo’s quality standard for safety and care.
Quality begins with children and the caregivers who nurture them. It reaches further when what we learn is useful to government and others working across the childcare sector.
Improve Care
Children experience safer spaces, nutritious food, good hygiene practices, responsive care and play-based learning.
Support Providers
Mamapreneurs build practical childcare skills, stronger micro businesses, professional confidence and communities of support.
Learn & Apply
Kidogo measures what changes for children and providers, uses that evidence to improve the model, and shares what works with government and others working to improve childcare.
Meet Our Mamapreneurs
Much of the childcare sector still remains unseen. So do the women whose skills and ambitions hold it together. Their stories show what change looks like in practice.
From two children to a school of more than 100
Rael and Vera each ran home-based childcare centres, caring for just two children between them. With Kidogo’s support, they strengthened their centres and eventually joined forces. Today, they run a school serving more than 100 children.
Curiosity Meets Evidence
Children are curious by nature. So are we.
More than a decade of working alongside childcare providers has changed how Kidogo thinks about improving childcare. Training alone is not enough: providers need practice, feedback, mentorship and businesses strong enough to sustain better care.
Quality and affordability are also inseparable. Better care costs money, while many families already struggle to afford childcare. High-touch support can improve quality, but it cannot be the only path to scale.
Government cannot support or regulate providers it cannot see, and quality childcare cannot ultimately be financed by low-income families alone. These lessons shape Kidogo’s model, research agenda and work with government.
Let's Build Together
Changing childcare takes more than one organisation.
Kidogo works alongside childcare providers, government, researchers, funders, and peer organisations, bringing practical experience from implementation into work we build together.
