If you have been thinking about starting a daycare/creche centre, you are on the right page. In this blog post, you will learn about what you need to begin your journey in the business of daycare/creche centre in Nigeria.
We are now in a country where most women are currently working class or even businesswomen. Many don’t have time to take care of children like they used to. They would rather pay to daycare/creche for the proper care of their child(ren) than sit at home doing that. This has led to people venturing into this lucrative business of offering care services to young children and babies.
Daycare/creche is a place where care is being given to children. It mostly runs during the day, while some at night. Care is given to the babies of someone else.
A daycare/creche business could be run from home if there is enough space and one has the passion and meet the requirements to run a daycare/creche business in Nigeria.
You can start a daycare/creche centre in Nigeria with like N50, 000, or even more depending on your location, the types of equipment you would be getting, the number of staff that would be hired, and even the advertising cost. All these things vary. You can start with minimal resources and invest in the business as time goes on.
The experience and the number of years of establishment determine the revenue you can generate. When your daycare/creche is still new to society, the enrollment doesn’t tend to be high like that and that will definitely tell on your income.
So let’s make a rough estimate: when you charge N6,000 per child and have about 15 children in the first month, that’s about N90,000 in revenue in your first month.
In the second month, there might be more enrollment if you do marketing and advertisement for the business, and taking good care of the wards of your existing clients itself will make people recommend your business to others. The more paying clients, the more revenue.
Most times, your location has a high effective rate on how you charge. You can’t compare what a daycare/creche in Ikoyi will charge to what a centre in Ikorodu will charge. So this too is part of what to consider in your revenue expectation.
In this article, we won’t just help with the requirements of starting a daycare/creche in Nigeria, but hold your hand on how to have a successful daycare centre.
Requirements for having a daycare/creche centre
There are always start-up requirements for every business. The mode at which the business runs, and things that need to be done to have a successful business.
1. Passion:
The passion they say is the most important before the commencement of anything. One needs to have passion for this because passion helps derive joy from what you do and also helps overcome obstacles that might come up.
The truth is that every business has its own hazards, and with a strong passion for one work, the push would always be there to fight every challenge.
If there is no passion or dreams for work, things most times won’t go right. Mission and vision, with a passion for work, help get successful results.
Don’t forget that daycare deals with kids, whoever would be in charge has to render the service perfectly.
2. Good location:
The location has a high effect on people, especially children. A good daycare has to be situated in a cool and quiet place. It should be in a serene location. It needs to be around homes and offices with good security and a gated compound.
The space needs to be clean. The kitchen and bathrooms need to be clean always. Also, it must be accommodating and having enough space for playing ground with safe play equipment is recommended.
Note that, your location would determine the fee you would pay when you want to get a license for your business.
3. Qualified staff:
Don’t just employ anyhow people to be the caregivers. State the qualities you want and must-have qualifications to fit into the roles.
This is one paramount thing that you need to take your time on when starting the business, aside from providing the necessary pieces of equipment for the kids, there need to be well-trained caregivers that would do all that needs to be done for the children.
Having an untrained staff is not only dangerous for the business, but also for the kids and that could kill the business and cause more harm than good. Whoever would be hired should have passion for it and have similar goals towards the business which is a success.
How to get your creche/daycare registered
This service is like every other service provider business that needs to be registered. So, to start a daycare/creche business, you will need to register your business name under the body that is saddled with the responsibilities to legalize business in Nigeria which is the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
After being registered, the next thing is being permitted to run a daycare/ creche business. Since this business is mostly done by women, it is the ministry of Women’s Affairs that would grant permits.
Representatives from the ministry will be sent to come for a proper inspection of the location, the environment, the facilities that you have provided, and even your staff before you are permitted to start.
If all this is in place, then you would go ahead to pay the required fees for that. Certificates are issued after a year of commencement.
Equipment that should be in a daycare/creche centre
1. Good furniture:
This is the top equipment that needs to be catered for. Good bedding in different sizes and shapes for different age ranges. The beds should be enough and mats for them to take naps. It can serve as a sick bay in cases where there are no separate beds for that.
2. Table and chair:
Tables and chairs in their sizes for them to sit and do some exercises like colouring, writing, etc. Also, can be used when they want to eat.
3. Toys:
The love between kids and toys time cannot be broken no matter how hard you try. Their days are filled with sleep, eating and playing. Even when they need to learn new things it has to come with some attributes of play for them to grab.
So, a standard daycare should have various toys. The toy a 5-month-old baby would use would be totally different from that of an 18-month-old baby. This needs to be available for the children to be active.
4. Toiletries:
Toilet rolls, napkins, detergents, bathing soaps, and diapers are things that should always be available. These are things they make use of every time, so there ought to be enough provision for them. Air fresheners too shouldn’t be left out. The environment needs to smell nice always.
5. First aid box:
Usually, we know that even without dealing with kids, just in our homes, there ought to be a first aid box.
Now coming down to having a daycare, kids can’t be intentionally careful except if one takes a close look at all they do. But there is no how there wouldn’t be cases of wounds or other things that need to be attended to before going to the hospital, that would even if need be.
This would even be among the important things they would look out for when coming for an inspection.
6. TV and audio sets:
These are significant tools for them to learn. Kids learn from things that attract them like the visuals, sound and songs. These are the ways they can learn things faster.
Remember we mention whatever they want to learn, it has to come with an attribute of play for them to assimilate. Attractive painting on the wall, creative decoration, relating to what they are being taught.
Wrapping things up
If you are thinking of starting a daycare business, that is such a nice idea, because these are part of the highly requested services. Not only office women, but even business owners, that are occupied need the service.
Start with a strong passion for it and a dream. Even in your home, little things can still be done, focus on the main things done and begin.
Please, do let me know if you have any questions, contributions or contrary opinions about this information. Simply leave comments below. I would really love to hear from you.
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