 Early childhood development | Education, training, entrepreneurship   Pilot program in 2018. Phase 3: 2025–2026

The context

In Burkina Faso, as in our other countries of intervention, societies are changing. Women work outside the home, families are more broken up, traditional models are questioned. Parents have ambitions for their children. We are seeing a growing demand for professional childcare for toddlers. 

To provide a framework for the development and education of children in Burkina Faso, from 3 to 36 months, the State has recently adopted legislation.  But in reality, public crèches are very rare, and until recently there was no specific professional training for childminders, for example.

In Yatenga, a poor province in the north of the country, unemployment has reached 60% and particularly affects women. The insecurity in this area, with the threat of terrorism, does not favor the emancipation of young girls and mothers either.

The project

To meet the demand for childcare in Burkina Faso, ensure children’s safety, health, and early development, and also to provide women with opportunities for training, entrepreneurship, or skilled employment, Planète Enfants & Développement has established a training program for child care providers in partnership with local associations and the French government.

The first phase of this project, launched in 2018, focused on the creation of a state-recognized training program for child care providers. We established a pool of trainers from the ministries responsible for social services and youth affairs, which enabled us to launch the first training sessions (300 women trained between 2020 and 2021).

Since 2022, the association has continued to support for these women so that they can find a job or start their own early childhood care center. We helped some women draft their applications and prepare for job interviews, and we supported those who wanted to start their own businesses by providing advice on business structure, access to microcredit, setting up their business (safety, hygiene), scheduling activities, and so on.

We have also composed of mentor child care providers to structure the industry into a network and continue to support female entrepreneurs.

In 2025, our two coaches in business management and early childhood development continued to Monthly visits to child care providers' homes (SEEJE) or at child care providers' homes (MAM). They also organized three sessions of training at financial management, the creation of recycled games and toys, and online data collection tools. They also supported the creation, development, equipping, and monitoring and supervision of 5 new daycare centers.

Finally, our team helped the Association of Childcare Center Operators secure funding and organized training for local stakeholders to support the sector.