Partnering for Change in ECD: EOF’s Contribution to South Africa’s Vision for Early Learning

April 10, 2025

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the 2030 Bana Pele (‘Children First’) Roadmap Leadership Summit in Johannesburg, co-convened by the National Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Business Leadership South Africa. The event brought together leaders across the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector to strengthen collaboration in support of the DBE’s 2030 ECD Strategy, which aims to provide universal access to quality early learning opportunities for all children in South Africa. The energy and hope throughout the Summit were truly infectious, fueled by the strong political commitment to ECD and a deep appreciation for the hard work of the leaders and activists in the ECD sector who have brought us to this point. I found it genuinely exciting and energising to be part of such a powerful moment, one that showed just how much is possible when so many people care this deeply about giving every child a strong start.

The Summit marked a pivotal moment for the ECD sector, with a shared recognition of the decades of advocacy and tireless efforts by leaders and activists to strengthen ECD. President Ramaphosa, in his opening remarks, acknowledged, “Thirty years ago, we made a mistake. We should have started with ECD. It’s the most powerful lever to unlock the potential of our future.” He emphasized that early childhood education is not only a moral and developmental imperative but also the most powerful lever to break the cycle of poverty. The recent announcement by the National Treasury of an allocation of R10 billion (over 500M USD) to the sector over the next three years sends a clear message that this commitment is real and growing.

Research consistently shows that investments in ECD programmes yield returns as high as $17 USD per $1 spent for the most disadvantaged children, making South Africa’s leadership in prioritizing early childhood especially noteworthy.

Building Partnerships for Impact: Leveraging Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration in ECD through Outcomes-Based Financing

A key highlight of the Summit was the emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration and the need for innovation in the ECD sector to make it more inclusive and impactful. President Ramaphosa called for a unified framework to align government, donors, business, and implementers toward a shared mission.

At the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF), we deeply resonate with this vision. Our approach is centered on building ‘partnerships for public purpose’ that leverage the expertise of non-state actors to support governments in achieving measurable, meaningful outcomes for children. I had the honour of joining the Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube and Deputy Minister of Finance Ashor Sarupen on a panel discussion exploring the role of Outcomes-Based Financing (OBF) in advancing the country’s ECD goals.

At EOF, we are convinced that OBF is a promising way to align incentives around results that matter the most. The idea is simple, instead of funding inputs or activities, we pay for outcomes such as improvements in children’s early learning and development. This approach builds accountability, encourages innovation, and enhances programmes effectiveness.

Our experience in Sierra Leone, where we partnered with the government to launch the Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge (SLEIC), one of the largest outcomes funds to date, resulted in children participating in the programmes achieving learning gains equivalent to an extra year of schooling in top-performing education systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Our implementing partners there have also reported improvements in data collection, strategy refinement, and service delivery, all tied to a focus on measurable education outcomes.

Scaling Impact: The Early Childhood Care and Education Outcomes Fund and the Path to Sustainable ECD in South Africa

Currently, 1.3 million children aged 0 to 5 do not have access to any type of Early Learning Programmes in South Africa, and only 3 out of 10 children in the poorest quintile are developmentally on track. Together with the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister of Finance, we see significant potential for OBF to address the dual challenges of closing the access gap and improving quality in Early Learning Programmes.

We are excited to support the Government of South Africa through a new outcomes fund, which aims to expand access to quality early learning and improve child development outcomes for over 100,000 underserved and vulnerable children in the three provinces of Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and KwaZulu-Natal.

The fund is a core part of the DBE’s 2030 ECD Strategy, offering a new way to deliver services that are scalable, impactful, and sustainable. It’s the product of a close and thoughtful co-design process with the DBE, National Treasury, donors including the LEGO Foundation, Yellowwoods, Standard Bank, Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, and First Rand, and key stakeholders across the sector, including technical partners, and implementing organisations. It took time to get it right, but that’s precisely what makes it so well aligned with national priorities and so promising in terms of long-term success.

One of the most exciting aspects of this programme is the rich learning agenda it sets in motion. We’ll be generating valuable data on which interventions are most cost-effective and impactful insights that can directly inform future policymaking. As implementation begins, we’re also eager to create collaborative spaces where implementers can share their experiences, adapt in real time, and continuously improve their approaches to drive meaningful outcomes for young children in South Africa.

This outcomes fund isn’t just a pilot, it’s a carefully designed first phase, intended as a proof of concept for a new partnership model with non-state actors, with the ultimate goal of scaling nationally. To build a model that is both scalable and sustainable, the fund will leverage tools developed specifically for the South African context, such as the Quality Assurance and Support System (QASS) and the Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM), to measure and reward results. By testing this new approach to delivering and financing ECD, we aim to support government efforts to strengthen quality assurance systems. To ensure long-term systemic impact, we will continue working closely with the DBE and National Treasury to strengthen the government's capacity to contract for outcomes and to establish the enabling environment needed including procurement systems and legal frameworks to scale outcomes-based approaches nationwide.

The Road Ahead: Laying the Groundwork for a Global Model in ECD

This programme marks just the beginning of a transformative learning journey. I was especially excited during the Bana Pele Summit to see OBF highlighted as a priority in the roadmap’s commitments to sustain and grow ECD funding. With strong political will behind ECD and a growing appetite for innovation and outcomes-focused tools, South Africa is uniquely positioned to build a model that is both sustainable and scalable.

As we prepare to launch the first outcomes fund, we are already engaging with partners across the ECD sector to imagine what a second phase could look like, laying the groundwork for something much bigger and moving steadily toward a national scale.

The insights we will uncover alongside DBE and our partners will not only help shape the future of ECD in South Africa but could also inspire new approaches to financing early learning globally. We know we don’t have all the answers yet but that is exactly what makes this journey so exciting. We are eager to learn, adapt, and grow together as we work hand-in-hand with government and partners to make quality access to ECD a reality for every child.

This blog was written by Miléna Castellnou, Chief Programmes Officer at EOF.