Connect Nigeria’s Top 100 Emerging SMEs: The Baby Lounge

The Baby Lounge is a childcare provider with unique and innovative solutions to support and address the pains of working mothers with children below 8 years of age. They made our Top 100 Emerging SMEs list at the 14th position with 367 votes. The Baby Lounge Limited is a crèche consulting and management company. They also own The Baby Lounge Crèche in Victoria Island. The Baby Lounge Limited has helped numerous organisations set up and manage in-office creches over the years. Notable clients include Total E&P Nigeria, Access Bank and MTN. Their vision is to be a reference point for practical and innovative childcare solutions that address the pain points of working mothers and guardians. About Despite being operational since the year 2000, The Baby Lounge Limited was registered as a business with CAC in 2015. The Company is  founded by Itoro Ugorji, a seasoned Early Years Practitioner, with a Diploma in Children’s Studies and an M. Sc program in Early Childhood Education with a specialisation in Administration, Management & Leadership.  She has several years of experience from international exposure in Nursery Hill Elementary School and Smart Kidz Academy, both in Columbia, South Carolina. The idea to set up Office Crèches was born after Mrs Itoro had her first child and had difficulty finding professional healthcare service providers with proximity to the bank where she worked. She struggled with selling the office creche idea to companies at its inception because it wasn’t their priority and a major objective. Mrs Itoro overcame this challenge by diversifying the company’s services to make them more accessible for working mothers. These days, more companies have begun to embrace the office creche idea because they see the value of improved productivity it brings to their female workforce. Another challenge The Baby Lounge has faced as an SME is finding competent employees with the right attitude and paradigm towards childcare. That’s because childcare is seen as a job for SSCE holders or as a last resort for unemployment for graduates. So people sign up and treat the job with levity. To change this narrative, Mrs Itoro organised certification training in Childcare for domestic staffs and workers recruited for The Baby Lounge Limited. The Baby Lounge is motivated by their desire to make life easier for working mothers and guardians.

Services The Baby Lounge has a list of services to meet various childcare needs such as:

1. Crèche Consultancy: Services to aid aspiring individuals set up Crèche/daycare businesses. They provide services ranging from the legal requirements to open a crèche, the layout/furniture, educational and entertainment materials and the sourcing and training of qualified childcare staff.
2. The Baby Lounge Crèche to care for children aged 0-4 years from 7 am – 7 pm.  The company opened their own crèche to cater to companies that required crèche facilities but have space or other constraints. The Baby Lounge Creche is a world-class childcare facility run by trained and certified childcare professionals. It is Hygienic, Safe & a Comfortable Stimulating Playing and Learning Environment for children. There is CCTV surveillance to monitor the security of the children.
3. 3. After School Care Services, which is open all year round for children aged 3 -10 years offers fun activities guaranteed to keep them engaged till 7 pm. The activities include Homework assistance and tutoring, naps and baths, age-appropriate educational board games and Reading programmes (nurturing the love for books & building their word bank).

4. Weekend-Care Services, to cater to children aged 1-10 years when their parents or guardians are going out for an event, running errands, stranded and clueless on what do or simply want to put their feet up for a couple hours and catch that much-needed rest.
5. Event Chéché/Pop-Up Services: The Baby Lounge work with event planners and companies to provide pop-up on-site crèche facilities for various events allowing parents to enjoy themselves knowing their kids are in good hands.

6. Group Discount Service.  This service is where 5 or more parents come together to sign up for The Baby Lounge services as a group. They could be co-workers, friends or just people going for a group outing but need somewhere to keep their kids for a certain time span.

Contact Their office is located at No 1637 Adetokunbo Ademola street, (1st Floor of Ibukun House, the same building as First Bank opposite Eko Hotels), Victoria Island. You can call them on 234-1-8120796722,  08167826566, 090-7777-BABY. Or email thebabylounge1@gmail.com or babble@thebabylounge.com.ng. Visit their website at www.thebabylounge.com.ng for more details. Without a doubt, The Baby Lounge service is an all-encompassing, professionally-delivered childcare and childhood development service!   Featured Image Source: Lagos Mums