Every thriving Early Childhood Development (ECD) centre begins with a safe space where children feel secure enough to explore and where parents trust that their little ones are cared for. But for many women entrepreneurs running these businesses, safety has another critical dimension: it’s the key to formal registration and the financial security that comes with it.
Registration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) unlocks government subsidies and long-term sustainability. Yet many practitioners struggle to meet the infrastructure standards required, from safe toilets and proper fencing to fire safety and stable roofs. Through its Accelerator Programme, IMBE enables ECD owners to bridge this gap, supporting them to create environments that are not only safe and compliant but also built for growth.
From Assessment to Action
For ECD owners entering IMBE’s Accelerator Programme, the journey begins with Growth Day, an orientation introducing key business management concepts, including financial planning, marketing strategies, operational systems and facility maintenance. Soon after, IMBE’s Infrastructure Site Technicians visit each centre using a digital, real-time assessment tool to evaluate the physical condition of the site.
The tool records everything from structural stability and hygiene to lighting, safety and compliance with the DBE’s minimum infrastructure standards. Within minutes, practitioners receive an automatically generated report outlining the improvements needed to achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold certification under the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive. Centres that are registered as Silver with the DBE become eligible to apply for government subsidies, providing vital financial support to sustain and grow their operations.
Importantly, IMBE’s site assessment report does more than flag risks. It also highlights what centres are doing well, celebrating compliance and providing women entrepreneurs with a clear, data-driven roadmap to safer, more functional spaces by specifying the areas for improvement and detailing where work is needed to meet DBE registration standards.
Evidence from the Field
To date, IMBE has conducted more than 2,000 infrastructure assessments across six provinces, including Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Eastern Cape, reaching both urban and rural communities.
Feedback from a follow-up survey shows that practitioners found these assessments and reports highly valuable in guiding practical improvements. Nearly nine out of every ten respondents said the reports helped them understand what was required for registration, and many added that they were able to make tangible upgrades to their centres, from improving hygiene and safety to meeting DBE compliance standards. This growing satisfaction highlights how IMBE’s assessment model serves as both a diagnostic and developmental tool.
These visits form part of one of the largest consolidated datasets on ECD infrastructure in South Africa, combining site-level data, alumni records and insights from the DBE’s registration drive. Together, they offer a comprehensive view of the early learning infrastructure landscape: where children are learning, the conditions they face and the support systems helping them thrive.
Each assessment captures a detailed snapshot of ECD conditions, including:
This data-driven approach enables IMBE to provide direct support to practitioners while offering evidence for funders, policymakers and investors to target resources where they can have the greatest impact.
Progress and Persistent Gaps
An analysis of over 1,300 ECDs participating in the Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive, predominantly in Gauteng with smaller representation from Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo, reveals a mixed but hopeful picture of South Africa’s early learning infrastructure.
Most centres now have access to basic services like toilets, clean water, enclosed premises and separate kitchens, with access rates ranging between 73% and 86%. Yet beneath this progress lie persistent safety and structural challenges:
These findings reveal both the progress made and the scale of work still needed. For IMBE, each site visit is far more than an inspection, it’s an intervention in safety, dignity and sustainability.
Translating Data into Impact
IMBE’s research shows a clear link between safer environments and stronger enrolment. Centres with stable walls, protective roofs and visible emergency plans enrolled, on average, two to three more children than those without such features. When an ECD feels safe, families stay and new ones join.
IMBE translates insight into action through hands-on support that helps ECDs move closer to registration and compliance. As an implementation partner of the Bana Pele project, we have procured and distributed over 300 Health & Safety packs to registered centres, equipping them with first aid kits, signage and fire extinguishers, and continue to support the project where needed.
To date, IMBE has supported 42 centres nationally with direct infrastructure upgrades, from new toilets and kitchens to roof repairs and fencing. The project costs have averaged R15,000-R35,000 per site. In addition, IMBE has conducted repairs and maintenance work on 18 high-need sites focused on creating safe spaces for children.
These low-cost, high-impact improvements deliver immediate, visible change, creating safer spaces for children, building trust with parents and strengthening the sustainability of these women-led businesses.
Building a Pathway to Registration
IMBE’s infrastructure work aligns closely with the DBE’s eCares platform, which formalises ECD registration and builds a verified database of practitioners across South Africa.
By supporting women entrepreneurs to reach registration readiness, IMBE helps them unlock the practical and financial benefits :
This alignment closes the loop between infrastructure, compliance and financial empowerment, ensuring that safe, registered ECDs are not only better for children, but also for the women who build and sustain them.
Recent analysis of IMBE’s site assessment data shows that around 62% of centres are already “Bronze-ready” in terms of meeting basic infrastructure and safety requirements, While approximately 38% are close to achieving “Silver readiness”. These findings reflect the value of IMBE’s assessments in helping practitioners understand where they stand on their registration journey. By identifying what is already in place and what still needs attention, the reports empower ECD owners to take informed steps toward full compliance with infrastructure serving as one key part of that broader process.
Shaping a Blueprint for National Action
The insights gathered from the 2,000 infrastructure site visits reach far beyond individual ECDs, together they’re shaping a blueprint for national action.
By mapping conditions across six provinces, IMBE is helping identify where public and private investment delivers the greatest returns, particularly in vulnerable and under-resourced communities. This growing dataset is already informing government and funder priorities, guiding where support can achieve the most meaningful impact.
At the same time, IMBE’s work strengthens the wider ECD ecosystem by linking data, policy, and practice, showing how targeted, evidence-based support for women-led ECD enterprises improves not just compliance, but the overall quality and inclusivity of early learning in South Africa.
As IMBE expands its reach, its mission remains clear: to build safer, stronger spaces where children can learn and women entrepreneurs can succeed. By combining digital innovation, on-the-ground expertise and a shared national vision for registration and compliance, IMBE is setting new benchmarks for sustainable ECD infrastructure for children, families and the women shaping the future of early learning in South Africa.
