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South Africa has launched a R496 million Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Outcomes Fund, aimed at improving early learning access and quality for 115,000 children. The launch took place in Midrand on 01 December 2025, drawing over 100 officials, funders and early learning experts.
Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube said the Fund represents a new way of financing social impact.
“This is not just a fund,” she said. “It is a new way of doing things in South Africa collaborative, accountable and unapologetically focused on the child.”
South Africa now leads the world in outcomes-based financing for early learning, setting a new global benchmark for investment in the foundational years.
A National Reform Linked to Long-Term Early Learning Goals
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) developed the Fund with the Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) and a group of local and international donors.
It supports the country’s 2030 Early Childhood Development Strategy and the Bana Pele Blueprint.
Through this initiative, South Africa plans to:
- Reach 115,000 children with improved early learning
- Strengthen or create 2,000 early learning programmes
- Support centres across three priority provinces
- Expand access for children in underserved communities
Minister Gwarube said early childhood care and education remain “the decisive equaliser of opportunity in South Africa.”
“If we miss this window,” she added, “we pay for it many times over through remediation and lost potential.”
A New Model: Paying for Measurable Improvements
The ECCE Outcomes Fund took several years to design. EOF Chief Programmes Officer Miléna Castellnou said South Africa’s leadership in innovative financing has reshaped global thinking.
“Outcomes-based financing is simple,” she said. “Government pays for improvements in children’s lives, not activities or inputs.”
Under this model:
- Government only pays when results are proven
- Implementing partners gain flexibility to innovate
- Communities benefit from real, measurable improvements
Castellnou said the Fund marks a “radical transformation in how early learning is funded.”
Local Delivery Across Three Provinces
Implementation begins in January 2026 across KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. All delivery partners are South African NGOs, supported by Bridges Outcomes Partnerships.
The implementing organisations include:
- SmartStart
- The Early Learning Resource Unit (ELRU)
- Ntataise
- Impande
- The Unlimited Child
Over the next three years, these partners will support existing centres, launch new programmes and test innovative models to strengthen early learning systems.
Strong Backing From Global and Local Philanthropy
The Fund is supported by a coalition that includes:
- The LEGO Foundation
- Yellowwoods & This Day
- FirstRand
- Standard Bank Tutuwa Community Foundation
- Oppenheimer Memorial Trust
Funders emphasised the importance of early investment.
“At the LEGO Foundation we believe every child has the right to learn, play and thrive,” said Ida Thyregod, International Programme Lead.
“By focusing on underserved communities, we can help vulnerable children grow through joyful, meaningful learning.”
Yellowwoods Executive Siven Maslamoney said the partnership aligns philanthropic capital with public finance to ensure “every rand delivers real improvements.”
A Foundation for Systemwide Transformation
Partners stressed that the launch is only the beginning.
The Fund will generate new evidence over the next three years and inform a future mechanism capable of delivering early learning at much larger scale.
“This is a foundational step toward sustainable, long-term impact for South Africa’s youngest children,” Castellnou said.
About the Education Outcomes Fund
The Education Outcomes Fund (EOF) works with governments, donors and implementers to make education systems more effective and equitable.
Its model ties funding to measurable improvements in learning and skills outcomes.
