current startUps

Karegaroo

Because it takes a village

About Karegaroo

By leveraging the power of technology and the strength of community, Karegaroo offers flexible, on-demand childcare that improves the lives of parents, caregivers and children. We empower women – especially newcomers – by offering them an opportunity to earn money and gain valuable work experience at home or close to home. Parents trust Karegaroo because they know that our caregivers are nurturing, qualified and dependable.

Challenge

Over the last three decades, the need for childcare has grown steadily with a rise in employment rates among women and a corresponding increase in dual-income earner families. This has accompanied changes in the composition of Canadian families, notably an increase in lone-parent and step-families, impacting both the need and type of childcare required. Finding the most appropriate child care arrangement is challenging. Parents must often balance the need between the overall quality, convenience, availability and cost of childcare. For newcomers, their childcare challenges are magnified as they are facing various challenges and barriers trying to find work, dealing with immigration processes and simply trying to get ahead in Canada.

Solution

Karegaroo is a curated marketplace through a digital platform connecting parents who need on-demand child care with verified reliable caregivers. This medium helps key players to connect, establish a marketplace, access resources and transact business, network, review and enjoy safe, reliable and easily accessible childcare. Offering job opportunities, training programs and reliable childcare to newcomers.

Market

There are many gaps within the childcare industry for both parents and caregivers that have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These flaws have restricted parents from finding available, affordable, accessible childcare, and have also prevented caregivers from entering and navigating the market to find jobs.

Achievements and Milestones

Founders

Reem Bairam
Founder and CEO

Reem has 13+ years of experience in executive leadership as a corporate responsibility and sustainability expert. She is committed to integrating environmental and social impacts for growth and profitability in her projects. Reem has a successful entrepreneurial history, founding a kids entertainment centre in 2016, which she grew to serve 2000+ clients.

Nancy Ifionu
Human Resources and Compliance Officer

Nancy Ifionu is a legal practitioner and a graduate of Lagos State University. She has robust experience in Organization Administration and Management, and is an expert in Corporate Governance and Organizational Compliance. In Canada, she has worked at a children’s care department with her local religious group and with daycare centres.

Sadaf Adnan
Compliance and Training Director

Sadaf is an early childhood educator and expert in child psychology. She initiated training and professional development programmes for principals and teachers, developed internal monitoring systems, and promoted parent-to-community links. She is a Montessori programme expert and developer. Sadaf has a Masters in Political Science, an MMIT Diploma in ECE, and a Bachelors of Education from Pakistan.

Yeguderwork
IT and Client Services Officer

Yeguderwork has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Addis Ababa University. In her previous roles, she has successfully onboarded clients to be one of the first virtual service providers in Ethiopia. In Canada she has worked as a server administrator at an IT support company.

Questions?

If you have any questions, or wish to learn more about the program, please reach out to the HerStartUp team: herstartup@syriancanadianfoundation.ca.