Investing in innovative solutions that tackle early childhood challenges is at the core of what we do, with impact leading the way. We back innovative solutions that have the potential to create a lasting, meaningful impact in the lives of young children, particularly those living in low-resourced communities across South Africa. To make this happen, we look for and find entrepreneurs and social innovators to work with—or they find us. They present their ideas or solutions, and we assess whether they meet our criteria. Our aim is to ultimately provide financial support and strategic guidance they need to develop, test, and launch their solutions.
We value partnerships deeply and invest significant thought and care into each one. Every venture is unique, and so is the support we provide. That’s why we carefully evaluate each opportunity, using clear criteria to ensure a strong alignment between us and our potential partners.
Are you an entrepreneur or innovator with a solution that could positively impact young children? If so, here are the key questions to help you decide if IE is the right investor for you.
1. Does My Venture Solve an Early Childhood Development Problem?
More than 6 out of 10 children in South Africa are at risk of never reaching their full potential due to challenging experiences they’ve had in their first six years of life. We want to change this trajectory by supporting solutions that serve children from conception to the age of six – a critical period for brain development and overall well-being.
While the solutions we’re looking for focus on early childhood development (ECD), that does not necessarily mean your organisation or business should entirely serve ECD. However, for us to support your venture there should be a clear benefit to the age group mentioned above, either directly or indirectly. For example, your solution could support early learning practitioners, pregnant mothers, caregivers, healthcare workers, or other key role players in the ECD ecosystem. Empowering these individuals with your solution can have an indirect yet meaningful impact on young children’s lives.
We welcome entrepreneurs and social innovators from outside ECD with solutions that can be adapted or pivoted to serve young children and their caregivers. If your solution can positively impact young children’s lives, we’re interested in hearing from you, even if ECD hasn’t been your primary focus until now.
2. Does My Solution Have the Potential to Create Impact in Low-resourced Communities?
Majority of the children who live in poverty are in low-resourced communities. It is of outmost importance for us to make an impact on the lives of children in these areas. These are typically rural, townships and peri-urban areas where access to essential services like quality education and healthcare is limited. In many of these areas, economic opportunities are usually scarce, infrastructure is often underdeveloped, and communities face barriers to breaking the cycle of poverty. Access to ECD services, which are crucial for children’s cognitive, emotional, and physical growth in their early years is also severely restricted, limiting the opportunity for young children to thrive. We are specifically targeting children who live in these areas to ensure that we give them the opportunity to reach their full potential. If your venture benefits children in low-resourced areas, then that is a tick.
3. Is My Solution Innovative?
There is a common misunderstanding that innovation is about digital technology.
While technology can be innovative, at IE, we view innovation more broadly. Innovation is about the intentional use of information, imagination, and initiative to create greater or new value from resources. It encompasses all processes where new ideas are generated or existing ones are improved upon. For an idea to be considered innovative, it must be replicable at an economical cost and address a specific need.
Innovations can take many forms, including:
-Evolutionary: Incremental improvements or advancements to existing ideas, processes, or products.
-Revolutionary: Brand-new, often disruptive ideas, processes, or products that involve risk taking.
4. What Stage of Development is My Solution?
We are an early-stage investor, so we prioritise ventures at the early stage of development. We typically support ventures in the proof-of-concept stage, or proof-of-delivery or transition to scale. Depending on where your venture is, it will fall under one of our two investment platforms: ECD Catalyst or Venture Build.
Our ECD Catalyst focuses on ventures in the earlier stages where they are proving that their idea works. It involves developing a solution and testing it to determine if there is a demand for it.
The Venture Build on the other hand targets ventures that are further along. At this stage, you’re potentially starting to sell or provide your solution to your audience; you have customers and employees; and you are ready to scale.
If your venture is fully scaled and beyond these stages, it’s likely too mature for our portfolio. But if you’re at the early stages, we’re fully equipped to support you up to scale.
5. Is My Solution Scalable?
We’re looking for solutions that have the potential to grow, both in terms of operations and impact. Can your venture expand to other communities? Does your solution have the capacity to reach more children or caregivers as it develops? Scalability is key to ensuring that your innovation can make a broader, more sustained impact over time.
6. Is My Solution Sustainable?
Sustainability means your venture can continue beyond the initial investment phase. It’s about building something that lasts—financially, operationally, and in terms of the impact it creates. We want to know if your solution can attract ongoing support, retain staff, and continue making a difference even after our initial investment. Your venture should have the potential to operate long-term, with a repeatable model that continues to serve more people as it grows.
7. Is My Business Model Defendable?
If your solution is commercial, it must be defendable. A defendable business model is one that can withstand challenges and remain resilient in difficult times. We look for ventures that have a clear path to generating income, whether through contracts, partnerships, or other mechanisms that provide financial stability. Your ability to sustain operations in uncertain times is crucial.
8. Do I Have the Right Team?
We value ventures led by capable, committed teams. Ideally, your team should have at least two key members – two founders or a founder and a senior leader – with strong technical expertise and business acumen. Beyond technical skills, we also value qualities such as communication, collaboration, adaptability, resilience, and coachability amongst others. Most importantly, we want to see that your team is fully invested in the venture’s success. This could mean using your own resources to start the venture, dedicating your time full-time, or securing additional funding.
9. Do I Have a Growth Strategy in Place?
Ambition and strategic thinking are important to us. Do you have a clear vision for how your venture will grow? Are you thinking about the steps needed to move forward and succeed at each stage? We want to work with entrepreneurs who have a strong growth mindset and a well-thought-out strategy for scaling their solutions.
10. What is the Key Question I Haven’t Asked Yet?
Identify the one question that could unlock new possibilities for your venture and answer it for yourself.
We wish you the best of luck on your journey!
Remember, if you believe your solution has the potential to tackle an early childhood challenge, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to our investment team at [email protected]. Your innovation could help shape a brighter future for South Africa’s youngest citizens.
Author: Dimpho Lephaila – Communications Associate at Innovation Edge