Everything you need to run a sustainable ECD Business

Education and Business support for Preschools

Running a professional ECD Centre takes a lot!

We know that you need daily passion and determination to run a preschool, especially if you feel isolated from opportunities and have limited access to resources. It’s an immense responsibility that is as rewarding as it is demanding! Centre owners are expected to manage their staff, finances, nutrition, learning outcomes, compliance, reporting and more…

No one should be expected to do this important work alone. We want to help.

Grow’s ECD Small Business Programme is here to lighten your load. During this 3-year support programme, you will have access to practical support, resources, training, mentorship and opportunities to improve your business sustainability and education quality. You’ll be making progress towards your dream centre along with a supportive community of like-minded owners!

ECD Small Business Programme

Everything you need to run a sustainable ECD Business.

*The preschool remains independent and unbranded and is Supported by Grow ECD.

Education Support

Business Support

What is included in the Education Support?

Daily curriculum

A step-by-step teachers’ guide for every day of the year, per age group (2-5 years old).

Classroom kit of equipment

Everything you need to implement the 2-5-year-old curriculum.

Baby Programme (optional extra)

A 0-2 year old baby curriculum and baby classroom kit.

In-person training

Practical and inspiring business-, education- and life skills training for teachers and principals.

Education mentorship

Schools get access to a professional education mentor to support their teachers.

No more stressing about the weekly theme and activities, extension ideas or finding quality, affordable equipment to get your learners on track.

With the Grow’s ECD Education Support your preschool can have everything ready for 40 weeks of play-based early learning for your 2-5 year olds that covers all the developmental areas.

Support the magic of a baby’s development

Now your baby class can thrive too! Our Baby Programme is available to all our ECD Small Business Programme members as an optional extra. This curriculum and classroom kit have been specifically created to help your 0-2 year olds reach development milestones appropriate to their age.

What forms part of the Grow’s Baby Programme?

Baby Curriculum

Baby curriculum book (teacher’s guide), printed resource pack and two days of in-person training. Use your equipment from the Classroom Kit (2-5) to implement the programme (Exclusive to Grow ECD Small Business Programme members).

Baby Classroom Kit

If you need dedicated equipment to implement your Baby Curriculum, purchase the Baby Classroom Kit. It includes all the education equipment and toys needed to implement the Baby Curriculum.

Who can apply for Grow ECD's Small Business Programme?

Your preschool must be registered on our free ECD app.
You must use the app to register staff and learners and track daily attendance.
You must use the app to track your business income and expenses (this is important if you plan to apply for low-cost loan finance from Grow ECD).
You must have an ECD Centre located within 75km from a Grow ECD office (we are based in Cape Town, Midrand, Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
Your centre should have 25+ active learners.

Invest in your ECD business and your learners today

Our programme is subsidized by Grow ECD and by our suppliers, but it’s not free. This helps us support more centres that need these resources.

The cost depends on the number of learners and the layout at your centre. The minimum cost is R27 000 for 30 children.

We understand that each centre is on their own journey. You may not be able to see a solution yet, but we can guide you on which steps you need to take.

How can you afford it? We offer a combination of cash, loan and grant options to make it affordable and accessible. Which option is available to you depends on your school’s affordability and other criteria. Don’t worry, our business advisors will talk you through your options.

Cash purchase

For those who have savings.

Micro-loan (ECD Finance)

For those who want to pay if off over 3 years

It works for them. It can work for you!

See how many preschools and teachers are using the programme. Stats updated 31 July 2023

Provinces

ECD Centres

Teachers

Learners

See Siyakhula Educare’s classroom transformation

What I like about the Grow ECD program is that it teaches you how to be independent, how to fully be in control of your business! It teaches you how to put your business in your own hands. Before we had so many papers! But now each teacher has their own app as well, they can just edit if there's a mistake, and everything is so neat, and it's so organized, and everyone is just happy! My advice to other ECD Owners is to give it a try. With this app, if you use it, it's like a computer. It's all in your phone, now it's all in your hands.

I was very interested I the Grow ECD Programme because we need assistance with the financial health of our small business, and guidance on how to make my ECD better. Now, with the Apps, everything is at my fingertips so I don't have to look for books or look for information or go to the office. Everything is there for me. We need to change with the times – we need to get more modern. This app - it easy, it's convenient, and it's cheap! It's free. My advice to other ECD Owners who are not sure if this app will help them is that they must come to a meeting and ask questions. It's free of charge and it's so so easy to use.

For me, the Grow ECD curriculum is the best thing that has happened to my school in all the years I've been running. Before we got the Grow ECD curriculum and classroom kit, learning and teaching were very challenging. We had very little resources to support our day to day activities and learning. Now with the Grow ECD curriculum and learning materials our teachers are more confident in what they are doing, and our learners are having so much fun discovering and learning.And there is definitely a big improvement in how we teach our learners daily.

As a foundation with a mandate to support social enterprises that build sustainable businesses and job creation and where possible, solve a social need, we often struggle to source black-owned businesses that meet this mandate. Grow ECD gave us the opportunity to help women to be self-employed and provide quality ECD centres where the children no longer have to travel outside of their communities for their education. The educare centres also create employment for people living in those communities. If you’re looking at supporting an initiative that offers quality ECD education and ongoing support to early learning centres, consider Grow ECD Centres!

Grow ECD delivered on exactly what they had promised – and more. My centre was revamped, high quality and relevant learning equipment and the materials were delivered. I was filled with hope! The Grow ECD team did not stop there. They assisted me and my teachers with training workshops, business and education mentoring, school visits and coaching, financial guidance, a great day-by-day education programme and so much more. They made sure that my centre as a whole was of exceptional quality.