‘We are passionate about building the right competencies and replicating global standards’

ITORO UGORJI caters primarily to children aged 0 to 5 years. She is the CEO of The Baby Lounge, a provider of unique and innovative childcare solutions that are designed to support and address the pain points of working mothers. She speaks with KEMI AJUMOBI on her passion for childcare, trainings, crèche advisory and more. Excerpts.

When and why did you decide to start the crèche?

When we had our first baby, after about 7 years in “God’s Waiting Room”, I chose to return to paid employment, we had to put in place childcare arrangements for him because that would give me peace of mind to focus on my day job. We did not imagine it would be that difficult settling for one. At first, I thought we were being too finicky and understandably so, after all this was our “miracle baby” we were talking about here. But alas, on closer look, we realised we were just looking for the basics – a squeaky clean, bright, well-lit stimulating learning and play environment run by equally bright, kind and competent childcare professionals who genuinely cared for the children that were entrusted to their care. The Baby Lounge is what I love to describe as a “vision restructure, reinvention & expansion”. The crèche was borne out of a desire to provide a childcare service (solution) that would give working mothers peace of mind so they can fulfil their dreams of building a career or a business enterprise, whichever they choose.

Share on your passion for child care

My first foray into the Childcare space was about 15 years ago. I started out with one room in our apartment at the time. Over the period, I went back to paid employment. In the course of the period, I got a number of certifications and trainings in Early Years Care & Education. It was not enough to be passionate about this “trade”, I found it absolutely necessary to acquire competencies too. Over the years, the vision has evolved. Our range of practical and innovative childcare solutions is designed to support and address the pain points of working mothers in the area of childcare: Crèche in V.I., Office crèches (set-up & management) In-home childminding, Event Pop-up crèche, Weekend Care, After-school care, Childcare trainings and Crèche Advisory. We are open all year-round, 7am to 7pm (except on public holidays). No term breaks (because mums do not go on term breaks).

Why your choice of location, VI? Any plans to expand?

The choice of the V.I. (business district) location is strategic. A number of mums prefer to have their children in crèches close to their work place. This is the niche we are looking to serve. The proximity of the crèche to the offices is one of the competitive advantages. Whilst we have mid-term plans of new set-ups in other business districts like Ikeja, our focus is more on collaborating with employers to set-up (on-site) office crèches.

Share on event Pop-up crèche

This is a mobile play and care set-up for all kinds of events (parties, seminars, conferences, fairs, souks, luncheons, weddings etc.). A safe, stimulating, engaging learning and play space where the children’s activities are supervised by professional Carers. So mums can attend their events and be at peace while the children are constructively engaged and well catered to. We work with event hosts, event centres and individuals to child-proof and transform any allocated spaces.

Childcare trainings and crèche advisory

We are very passionate about building the right competencies and replicating global standards within the childcare profession and sanitising this space in our own clime. It is totally unfair and a disservice to the children we serve, that anyone can “walk off the street” and be employed as a child caregiver, without prior professional training. The childcare professional is just as important as the medical profession. Our childcare trainings are Certification courses in various areas of childcare, designed for childcare professionals and any individual who works with young children. We have the online courses and the in-class (hands-on) training. The online training programme is collaboration with the Childcare Lounge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

What is your view on corporate crèches at the workplace?

I think workplace crèches are a fast and smart way to boost work productivity levels, employee retention and ultimately, company bottom lines. The Corporate crèches in the workplace initiative are low-hanging fruits any forward-looking company should reach out for. In-office crèches are quick-wins for HR functions.

Are there medical professionals in your team? How important is it to have them on board?

We always have a nurse as part of our full-time team. Every member of the team undergoes recurrent First-Aid trainings. We also have a Paediatrician on-call, in event that the child’s primary health provider is not easily accessible in event of a medical emergency.

Childcare service is an ultra-service that borders on health, care and service. It is one rife with a myriad of quality issues and risks one constantly prays does not crystallise. This is the singular reason it is imperative that any childcare setting has a medical resource (nurse, doctor-on-call and First-Aid box)

Projections

I want to grow more on structure, innovation and best practice. These are paramount to me.

Challenges

The quality and brand of childcare service we set out to provide is often compared with “nanny care” and as a result “priced” as such. The childcare solutions we offer is much more than nanny care. We give you a whole lot more value and we get an education and specialised trainings in order to be able to deliver on our brand promise. It has been a challenge to get the market to understand this. I think those who have experienced the true worth of the service, are spreading the word.