New Investment Focuses On Supporting Women Entrepreneurs To Help Solve Child Care Crisis

By
Wonderschool
January 11, 2022

Each year, the U.S. spends billions of dollars on early childhood education, and yet, 51% of Americans live in “child care deserts” without a sufficient supply of licensed child care. For Black families, the challenges are even more acute: Black mothers, even pre-pandemic, are more likely to lack access to affordable child care and face less flexibility in their jobs.

The Research Is Clear

Access to quality early child care profoundly impacts intergenerational poverty. Affordable child care not only enables parents to work, but we know a quality education at an early age can shape the trajectory of a child’s life, both academically and socially.

It’s for these reasons, and more, we’re excited to announce our new round of funding led by Goldman Sachs as part of its One Million Black Women initiative, a $10 billion commitment to narrow opportunity gaps for Black women over the next decade.

“Even before the pandemic, the absence of quality, affordable early child care education undermined the careers and economic mobility of many Black women, in addition to the development of their children during crucial years,” said Margaret Anadu, the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact for Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“Wonderschool is harnessing the potential of technology to provide comprehensive support to home-based care providers, enabling them to create high-quality environments while also helping parents in need of child care solutions with an accessible marketplace.”

Investing In Better Child Care Operations

The investment will allow Wonderschool to boost our ongoing efforts to support the entrepreneurs who provide child care services, many of whom are women of color, and the families they serve. We’ll soon be enhancing our platform’s user experience, bolstering support for government leaders, and expanding the team dedicated to helping child care providers access platform-wide insights and best practices that can improve the quality of their program.

The investment also allows us to expand our Board of Directors. We welcome Ken Coleman, chairman at EIS Group; Shane Metcalf, founder of 15Five; and Margaret Anadu, the Global Head of Sustainability and Impact for Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

We’re grateful for the support of our new and existing investors, including Citi Impact Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncork Capital, Unusual Ventures, Imaginable Futures, and Gaingels, who have joined Goldman in this latest round.

Join Wonderschool Today!

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