As Women’s Month draws to a close, there is a familiar temptation to celebrate women’s resilience and achievements. All of those things are worth recognising; however, recognition on its own does very little to change the conditions under which women live and work. This is particularly true in the care economy where so much of the essential work women do remains poorly recognised […]

What does it take to ensure that every child in South Africa has access to quality early learning? The answer cannot be found in one programme, organisation, or solution. It lies in the connections between the many people and parts of the early childhood development ecosystem – from families and practitioners to government, funders, researchers, […]

SmartStart’s work is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: every child deserves access to quality early learning from the start. In a recent feature with Business Minds Media, CEO Grace Matlhape shares more about the SmartStart’s vision, the importance of early learning in South Africa, and the role the organisation plays in helping to build […]

In October 2025, SmartStart, the Department of Basic Education, Ilifa Labantwana, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator and ECDAN convened a two-day Early Childhood and Care Systems Mapping Workshop with practitioners, parents, government officials, civil society organisations, funders, academics and international partners to examine how South Africa’s ECCE system works in practice, and what it will take […]

Insights and Pathways from the 2025 National Systems Mapping Workshop In October 2025, SmartStart, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Ilifa Labantwana, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, and the Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN) convened a two-day Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Systems Mapping Workshop. Early childhood practitioners, parents, government officials, civil society organisations, […]

MEDIA RELEASE With an innovative social franchise model, SmartStart is providing early childhood education for South Africa’s children—and economic opportunity for communities  Washington, DC, April 7, 2026—Today, the Skoll Foundation announced SmartStart as one of the three organisations that will receive the 2026 Skoll Award for Social Innovation. The award provides unrestricted support to nonprofit organisations with a proven track record of advancing transformational social change on intractable global issues.    Through innovative public-private […]