Business Champions for ECD
Making Early Childhood Development a Business Priority
Early childhood development is not only a social issue. It is also an economic and workforce issue.
When working parents cannot find affordable, reliable childcare, businesses can experience absenteeism, reduced productivity, staff turnover and difficulty retaining skilled workers.
Our Business Champions for ECD initiative engages employers, business leaders and private-sector organisations to recognise childcare as an investment in people, productivity and sustainable development.
Why businesses should care about childcare
For many working women, especially those in low-wage employment and the informal economy, childcare is essential infrastructure.
When childcare is unavailable or unaffordable, parents may:
1. Miss work or reduce their working hours.
2. Lose income.
3. Depend on unreliable care arrangements.
4. Leave employment altogether.
5. Experience increased stress balancing work and caregiving.
Businesses therefore have an opportunity to become part of the solution.
What we offer businesses
NECCS Initiative works with private-sector partners to explore practical approaches such as:
1. Employer-supported childcare.
2. Childcare subsidies or voucher contributions.
3. Workplace childcare partnerships.
4. Support for community childcare providers near workplaces.
5. Corporate social investment in childcare infrastructure.
6. Employee and parent education.
7. Evidence generation on childcare and workforce outcomes.
8. Peer learning among employers.
Our Childcare for Productivity model explores shared financing involving donor support, parent contributions and participating employers, while connecting working families to trained and supported community childcare providers.
The model also recognises the potential role of employers as champions who can demonstrate that childcare is not simply a welfare benefit, but an investment in employee wellbeing, productivity, retention and business performance.
Become a Business Champion
We invite companies, factories, SMEs, foundations and business leaders to work with us to develop practical childcare solutions that benefit both children and the workforce.
Become a Business Champion for ECD →