SmartStart

SmartStart was established in 2015 to address the gap in access to quality early learning in South Africa where an estimated 1.3 million children aged between three and five are not enrolled in any early learning programme. Through an innovative social franchise model, SmartStart works with 13 implementing partners to recruit, train and support (mostly) women to deliver early learning to children in low-income communities.

The SmartStart model recognises the assets inherent in every type of community in the country: under/unemployed women who use their homes and other community venues to run quality early learning programmes. With 15 000 active practitioners who reach 160 000 children weekly, this model not only addresses a critical need, but is also changing children’s learning outcomes significantly - even at scale. This has been confirmed by a recent independent study which tracked the progress of children in SmartStart programmes over eight months using South Africa’s Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) tool. The study found that the proportion of children “on track” in SmartStart programmes increased by 20 points from 45% to 65%, while the proportion of children "falling far behind" nearly halved. The achievement gap between children from low- and high-income households also reduced dramatically, falling from 25 points to just six points. By delivering quality early learning in home- and community-based settings across South Africa’s most under-served areas, we are building strong foundations for children’s futures and enabling women to earn a livelihood in their own communities.