A large-scale randomized evaluation studying how social franchising can strengthen childcare markets in Kenya's informal settlements.
Access to high-quality paid childcare is central to advancing women's economic and social agency while also promoting child development. But in Kenya's informal settlements, the childcare market sits at an equilibrium of low prices and low quality — where parents have limited willingness to pay and profitability is low. The market isn't fixing itself because quality is hard to observe and providers lack support to improve.
Source: QuiCK baseline survey, 2024 (working paper in progress)
Improving childcare quality creates a virtuous cycle — better outcomes for providers, parents, and children simultaneously.
When childcare quality improves, parents — especially mothers — may gain the confidence and freedom to work more consistently, expand their labor force participation, and pursue steadier income-generating opportunities. Access to reliable childcare can change what kinds of work are feasible.
Higher-quality care has the potential to benefit children through improved feeding, better sanitation, more stimulation, and structured learning activities. The study examines whether these changes translate into measurable gains in child health and development.
Training, mentorship, and franchise branding are designed to help daycare owners professionalize their businesses, attract more families, and strengthen stability. The study tests whether these supports can improve sustainability in a low-margin market.
We partner with a Kenya-based social enterprise that works with owners of existing private daycare facilities in informal settlements. The partner organization identifies communities, canvasses all eligible daycare providers, and invites them to a free, half-day workshop introducing the social franchise model.
Interested providers then participate in a three-day training covering effective early education practices, health and hygiene, and business skills. Providers who complete the program and meet quality standards become franchisees — receiving a one-time capital improvement grant (~$200), regular mentoring visits, smartphone with the partner's app, and in-kind feeding support for enrolled children.
Franchisee status signals to parents that a center meets a minimum quality standard set by the partner organization. We randomize entry into 51 communities across 11 counties to evaluate the impacts of this model on both the supply and demand sides of the childcare market.
