6 Key Insights from the ECD and Basic Education Conference 2024
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
1w ago
Over the past few months, Early Childhood Development (ECD) has emerged as one of the trending topics in our ecosystem, largely sparked by the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the budget speech a month ago. There is an urgent need to address the challenges that this sector faces. On 7 and 8 March 2024, our team attended the ECD and Basic Education Conference in Johannesburg. This conference provided a platform for teachers, researchers, policy makers, government officials, and other stakeholders to come together and discuss various issues related to early childhood and basic education. A ..read more
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President Ramaphosa highlights focus on ECD in 2024 SONA
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
1M ago
In his 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, “Over the next five years, we will direct our efforts towards expanding access to early childhood development (ECD) and enhancing early grade reading…”. The President has also previously emphasised the importance of ECD in various contexts over the years such as promoting educational equity, addressing poverty and fostering economic development. Cape Town, 09 February – As an impact-driven investor dedicated to investing into opportunities which address early childhood challenges in South Africa, Innovation Edge ..read more
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Starting a Journey in Social Entrepreneurship? Some Pointers to Consider
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
4M ago
Social entrepreneurs have become increasingly prominent and crucial to the sustainable construct of our societies and under-resourced communities. They play a catalytic role in driving inclusive and sustainable economic development across the continent.  Various studies have described social entrepreneurs as being change agents that harness innovation for the welfare of the public and to bring about social change and equality. Social entrepreneurship is closely linked with social innovation because social entrepreneurs are always looking for new ways to boost social and political dimensio ..read more
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VUNA: Empowering Caregivers to Address their Mental Health Issues
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
5M ago
Continuous high levels of stress, also known as toxic stress, is one of the leading contributors of many mental disorders among South Africans. This is especially detrimental for pregnant women and caregivers of young children, as it is significantly harmful to the developing infant brain. During pregnancy, the cortisol hormone released by a highly stressed mother can adversely affect the brain of the growing foetus. After birth, high levels of caregiver stress trigger a similar response in the baby’s brain, with lifelong implications for the child’s mental health, learning, and social functio ..read more
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An innovative game is enabling quality learning for children in under-resourced areas
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
5M ago
AN INNOVATIVE GAME IS ENABLING QUALITY LEARNING FOR CHILDREN IN UNDER-RESOURCED AREAS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cape Town, 21 April – On World Creativity and Innovation Day (21 April), Innovation Edge (IE) publishes a report showcasing the impact made by one of their investments – Finding Thabo – in enabling quality learning for South African children.  Finding Thabo is an innovative play-based and cost-effective interactive educational game that caregivers and early learning practitioners in under-resourced communities can use to engage their children in quality learning activities. Caregive ..read more
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Hey Dad! Connecting Fathers and Young Children Through Learning
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
6M ago
Language and literacy acquisition forms the basis of human communication, cognition, and social interaction. Yet, a significant portion of young children in South Africa cannot read for meaning. Numerous factors play a hand in this unsettling situation, including inadequate access to essential resources, skills, and tools for caregivers to teach their children to read from a young age. This reality is especially true for caregivers in low-resourced communities. There is a pressing need for innovative solutions that can truly empower caregivers to enhance language and literacy acquisition among ..read more
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Catalytic Investment in Africa –  IE’s Recognition as an Impact Investor
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
7M ago
Innovation Edge (IE) is thrilled to have secured a second place for the Catalytic Investor of the Year Award at the Africa Impact Investment Award event hosted by Krutham. The announcement took place during a virtual ceremony on 31 August 2023. As an impact-first investor, this prestigious recognition highlights the important work IE is doing in catalysing funding to innovations that improve the early experiences of children in South Africa. IE’s Investment Principal, Adliya van Niekerk shares insights on what this acknowledgement means for our organisation, the early childhood sector and impa ..read more
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Keeping Child Data Safe – ChatGPT’s Recommendations
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
10M ago
At Innovation Edge we care greatly about child safety: not just keeping them safe from physical harm but enabling environments at home and in their learning programmes where they can foster stable, supportive relationships with caring adults. Children with connections to these supportive adults are better able to regulate their brain and body’s response to toxic stress. This enables opportune conditions for a child’s learning and growth. Along with our financial support, we provide strategic coaching, operational support and connections to social capital to the social entrepreneurs providing s ..read more
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Deterioration of SA’s already dismal reading stats
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
11M ago
The latest Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) highlighted that 81% of our Grade Fours are unable to read for meaning and are more than three years behind the Brazilian peer group. This is a decline from the 78% we scored in the 2016 study. Whilst others are focused on how to fix the problem in the formal schooling system, we (at Innovation Edge) ask how early does this issue start? Data from our Thrive by Five Index tells us that of the over 5000 four and five-year-olds in early learning programmes (ELPs), only 54% of the children are on track in emergent literacy and language – the bu ..read more
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The Real Challenges in South Africa’s ECD Centres
Innovation Edge
by Innovation Edge
1y ago
A call for innovation to better support ECD practitioners Early childhood development (ECD) practitioners in South Africa are tasked with the challenge of encouraging healthy early childhood development while being faced with daily obstacles, such as poor resource availability, the absence of adequate funding, and oversized classrooms. In this article we expand on some of the difficulties ECD practitioners are confronted with and why new ideas are necessary to aid early learning programmes (ELPs).  Registration is long and costly Many ECD centres in South Africa operate unregistered – acc ..read more
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