The number of full-time housewives in Africa’s urban areas in on a rapid decline. Unlike anytime in its history, more African women are working at paid jobs or running their own small businesses. As a result of this trend, there is a growing opportunity for convenience services like crèche and daycare Centre businesses. More middle class families can now afford these services and appreciate the value it brings to their children’s early mental and emotional development. The crèche and daycare service business is a venture that can be run from your home. It is an exciting and fulfilling prospect for anyone with a passion and natural energy for children. This article explores everything you need to know to get your daycare service business off the ground….
What exactly is a Crèche/ Daycare Services
For those who do not know, crèches (or nurseries) are facilities where care is given to babies, toddlers and young children. Day care (also referred to ‘child care’ or ‘preschool’) is the care given to a child during the day (or night) by a person who is not their parent, Babysitting is done in the child’s home, day care services require the child be taken to a different location during specific periods especially when the parents are at work or travelled.
Children between the ages of one and six are popular candidates for these services. Daycare services can range from simple babysitting to a more formal structure that includes preschool education, child development, discipline and excursions.
The demand for crèche and Child daycare services is growing across Africa because people living in urban areas (cities and towns) are more likely to need crèche and child daycare services. As the size and number of Africa’s cities grow, convenience services (like daycare services) will continue to flourish More than 500 million Africans now live in cities and 400 million more are expected to join them over the next 20 years. Africa’s rapid urbanization is creating a lot of opportunities for convenience service providers (like daycare centers and laundry/dry cleaning services) who help to reduce the burden on the busy and complex lives of growing families in the cities.
In addition to urbanization, the following factors are also responsible for the growing demand for crèche and daycare services across Africa…
How to start your own Crèche and Daycare service business…
Providing day care for children is a big and serious responsibility. A crèche and daycare service provides entrepreneurs with an opportunity to pursue a socially conscious, challenging and fulfilling business. In this section, we shall take a close look at all the things you’ll need to transform this idea into a real-life, profitable business.
Step 1: Find out what the law requires
Some African countries may have laws which regulate crèches and day care services. These laws may require day care operators to be licensed or certified by a relevant government authority or professional association. Most of these laws and regulations have become necessary to discourage and punish any form of child abuse. As a result, the strict guidelines may often increase the cost of running a day care service business. Some of these regulations specify the minimum space and staffing requirements, the maximum number of children that can be admitted (depending on space), types of toys, mandatory documentation and many other things.
These strict regulations are responsible for the low profit margins experienced by daycare businesses in many countries. It’s very important that you check with your local authorities to understand what the law requires from day care operators in your area. Getting shut down b
y the authorities after you have opened for business may cost you a lot of money and your reputation.
Step 2: Get a Good location
Getting the right location for your crèche/daycare center can often mean the difference between success and failure in this business. The ideal location for a daycare center is safe, clean, accessible and close to the homes or offices of parents who can afford your services. Although a day care operation can be home-based or in a dedicated facility around shopping malls, industrial and office areas, it’s important to ensure that all the potential dangers that could affect your business can be avoided.
In addition to a good location, the building or space used for a crèche should have all the necessary facilities. A few of these include: kitchen, toilets (and maybe bathrooms), beds, blankets, toys and outdoor playgrounds. While designing or modeling your crèche, you must always keep in mind that you need to create an atmosphere that appeals to parents and makes children happy and comfortable. If the parents or kids do not like the feel of your crèche, they’re not going to use your services or recommend it to other people.
Step 3: Hire the right type of staff
Apart from a great location and full facilities, the kind of people who run and operate the crèche is key to the success of this business. It’s essential that your staff is empathetic, sensitive, patient, and have a natural energy and love for children. Above all, your staff must have the success of your business in mind at all times, which means building and maintaining a good reputation. Your reputation is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to advertise your services and get new customers.
Training in basic care giving and first aid is very important for your staff. Negligence and ignorance can often lead to avoidable accidents and mishaps at the Centre (which you don’t want). If you have the passion and some of the qualities we talked about above, you could run the crèche yourself or hire someone to do it for you. An experienced nanny, a middle-aged or retired nanny
Step 4: Develop a valuable curriculum and routine
Parents always expect good value for the fees you charge for your day care services. If parents can see an improvement in the mental, emotional and physical development of their kids, they will continue to hire your services and gladly recommend you to family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.
To help the kids develop mentally, work out a routine that encourages and engages their curiosity. Teaching simple rhymes, songs, numbers and alphabets helps to develop the memory of children and aids their language learning ability. Puzzles and games are very popular with young kids and helps them to learn shapes and colors. Dancing is another great way to hold their attention while they learn. An interesting day care experience allows kids to bond, make friends and look forward to coming back the next day. You’re very likely to retain the parent’s interest if their children are interested.
Proper attention, affection, order and discipline are critical to the emotional development of children. It’s important that the kids under your care learn good manners and are able to interact well with their peers. Physical health is also as important in your crèche. If you decide to serve meals, you must ensure that high standards of hygiene are always maintained. The food has to be nourishing, tasty and contain a well-balanced diet that will support child growth. And should a child contract a contagious illness (like chicken pox, cough etc.), it’s important that you stop them from attending the crèche until they are fully recovered.
I recommend that you go through these article if you’re really interested in pursuing this business idea. I would love to hear from you about your successes, challenges, advice and questions. Do not forget to leave a comment in the section below and share this opportunity with your friends!
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well written and arranged article...keep doing what you know best sis...K
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