Implementation Research: Impact Investing in the Care Economy

The Care Economy Knowledge Hub

Canada’s International Development Research Centre, in partnership with the Soros Economic Development Fund at the Open Society Foundations, has provided a grant to Kore Global to lead a research consortium including Intellecap, Busara, Volta Capital and CoreWoman to map out, profile and systematically review care economy business models in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. This includes the production of 60 care economy business profiles, and a unique and structured collection of 20 case studies, including ecosystem analyses.

The project will span from end of 2021 till early 2023, and it will provide insights into businesses that develop time or labour-saving, environment-friendly technologies to reduce drudgery in a way that can transform the care economy sector while creating economic value and contributing to women’s economic empowerment. The knowledge and evidence generated will shed much needed light on innovative and emerging private business models for the provision of quality and affordable care services and decent job opportunities for care and domestic workers.

The research project will generate high-quality and actionable evidence on the financial viability and social and environmental benefits of businesses operating in the care economy, which is essential for impact investors to make evidence-based decisions on investments that hold potential for combining both business benefits and development gains.

Our Project Hub provides more information about this research and opportunities to engage. A mapping of over 150 businesses in the care economy across all 3 project regions can be found there. We have also produced a blog on Mapping Care Economy Opportunities Through the 4Rs Framework.