Building South Africa’s Early Learning Data Infrastructure
DataDrive2030’s 2025 Annual Report reflects a pivotal year of growth, transition, and systems strengthening as the organisation continued to consolidate its role as a core component of South Africa’s early learning data infrastructure.
The report captures how DataDrive2030 works across the early childhood development ecosystem to generate and mobilise high-quality evidence that can support better decision-making, stronger accountability, and improved outcomes for young children.
Across South Africa, large amounts of information about children, programmes, and services are generated every day. Yet without shared systems, standards, and infrastructure, this information often remains fragmented and underutilised. DataDrive2030 exists to help bridge this gap – ensuring that data collected across the system can become shared evidence that informs action at programme, organisational, and national levels.
In 2025, DataDrive2030 strengthened this work across the full Data Value Chain – from fit-for-purpose tools and skilled data collection to analysis, accessible communication, actionable insights, and data-informed decision-making.
The year marked several significant milestones, including:
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The continued growth and uptake of the ELOM suite of tools as a shared system asset
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The release and national uptake of the Thrive by Five Index 2024, South Africa’s most comprehensive nationally representative measure of four-year-old children’s development
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Expanded partnerships and stakeholder engagement across government, NGOs, funders, researchers, and practitioners
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Strengthened digital systems, data infrastructure, and quality assurance processes
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Continued investment in shared learning, sector convening, and evidence use across the ECD ecosystem
By the end of 2025, DataDrive2030 had also reached an important organisational inflection point – transitioning from a founder-led, build-and-learn organisation into a more collectively led, scale-and-focus organisation with clearer priorities, stronger systems, and distributed leadership.
The report reflects not only on organisational achievements, but also on the broader opportunities and challenges facing the sector. It highlights the importance of collective action, shared measurement systems, and trusted evidence in shaping a more equitable future for young children in South Africa.
2025 At a Glance
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702 accredited assessors
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8,329 digitally captured assessments completed
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430+ programme-, school-, and RTO-level reports generated
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31 organisations using the ELOM suite of tools
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R1.7 million in estimated assessor earnings generated in 2025
Why This Work Matters
Data only creates impact when it moves across the system.
DataDrive2030’s work is grounded in the belief that stronger evidence systems can support better decisions, stronger programmes, improved accountability, and ultimately better outcomes for children. By strengthening how data is generated, shared, interpreted, and used, the organisation contributes to a more coordinated and learning-oriented early childhood development ecosystem.
Download the Report
We invite partners, practitioners, researchers, funders, policymakers, and the broader ECD community to engage with the report and join us in continuing to turn data into action.
