Grow Great

What Grow Great does

Grow Great is a South African non-profit campaign organization headquartered in Johannesburg, founded in 2018 by First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe with an explicit mission to eliminate childhood stunting in South Africa by 2030. It delivers its mandate through three operating programs: Grow Great Flourish, which supports mothers during pregnancy and early childhood; Grow Great Champions, which trains and equips community health workers to extend the campaign into underserved communities; and a Campaigns & Advocacy function that drives awareness and policy engagement. Grow Great does not sell a product, license software, or operate a proprietary technology platform; its technical surface is the programmatic design of community-based interventions, maternal-and-child-health content, and a dataset on child growth covering more than 420,000 children and more than 100,000 mothers supported.

The organization's revenue mechanics are those of a philanthropic non-profit: it is funded primarily through grants and donations rather than commercial pricing, with the DG Murray Trust (DGMT) acting as the principal long-term partner and additional support from E Squared Investments (recorded January 2022), major retailers such as Shoprite, and academic institutions. Go-to-market is executed through partnerships with provincial Departments of Health (notably the Eastern Cape), universities, and retail channels, rather than direct sales. Leadership was formalized with the appointment of Dr Edzani Mphaphuli as Executive Director, transitioning operational stewardship away from the founder's office.

Name

Grow Great

Legal name

Grow Great Campaign

Website

https://growgreat.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grow Great is a South African non-profit campaign founded in 2018 by Dr Tshepo Motsepe to eliminate childhood stunting by 2030, running community health worker, maternal support, and advocacy programs that have reached over 420,000 children and 100,000 mothers with grant funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) and Early Childhood Development services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Maternal, Child & Family Health Organizations (BPAGACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Parenting Skills & Child Development Education (EDACALAA)

Keywords

• Maternal health support
• Child nutrition programs
• Community health workers
• Stunting prevention
• Pregnancy support groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and grants: Grow Great operates as a campaign/NGO funded through donations and partnerships with funders. The organization accepts public donations to support their programs including R965 for a mom to join Flourish support group and R3400 to train a health worker.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Grow Great is a South African non-profit campaign working to halve childhood stunting by 2030. Its core offerings are three community-based programs: Flourish mother-to-mother support groups, the Champions community health worker training and stipend program, and Campaigns & Advocacy targeting the first 1,000 days of a child's life. Services are delivered free of charge to beneficiary mothers and CHWs and funded through donations and grants.

Product overview

Grow Great is a South African public health campaign organized around three core initiatives: Grow Great Flourish (support groups for mothers), Grow Great Champions (community health worker training), and Grow Great Campaigns and Advocacy (national storytelling and policy work). The organization also provides a library of free resources including educational materials, research reports, and videos. The campaign aims to achieve zero stunting in children by 2030 by focusing on the first 1,000 days of life from pregnancy to age two.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grow Great Flourish: Online and in-person support groups for mothers and pregnant women, led by trained local women. Offers practical guidance on self-care, baby care, early brain stimulation, breastfeeding and nutrition.
• Grow Great Champions

Products and services

• Grow Great Flourish A mother-to-mother support group program for pregnant women and new mothers that covers nutrition, health, and caregiver well-being during the first 1,000 days; delivered free of charge in under-resourced South African communities.
• Grow Great Champions A community health worker program that places trained CHWs in under-resourced neighborhoods on a stipend; CHWs provide household visits and group sessions on maternal, infant and young child nutrition and early childhood development.
• Grow Great Campaigns & Advocacy A national communications, data-driven storytelling and policy advocacy effort focused on halving childhood stunting in South Africa by 2030 and elevating the first 1,000 days on the public agenda.

Quantifiable outcome

• 420,000+ children growth monitored and protected from stunting
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DG Murray TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary strategic partner in the Grow Great Campaign. DGMT and Grow Great jointly launched the 'Let's Close The Food Gap' campaign challenging government, manufacturers and retailers to fight child hunger. DGMT is a key funder and co-developer of interventions.
• Eastern Cape Department of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandmark provincial partnership launched in 2026 to change the story of child nutrition in the Eastern Cape. Joint initiative to address child stunting in the province.
• Philani Maternal, Child Health & Nutrition TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for training Grow Great Champions coaches. Award-winning club coaches receive training from Philani in Cape Town.
• ShopriteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-branding partnership on Shoprite Ubrand and Ritebrand eggs (18- and 30-pack). Community events held to promote egg consumption for maternal and child nutrition.
• Nelson Mandela UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership to study nutritional status of children under five. Conducted community-based study in Mqanduli, OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape.
• Stellenbosch UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership to study nutritional status of children under five. Conducted study in Worcester, Breede Valley (Western Cape).
• ikapadataminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerData research partner that conducted Flourish Alumni Survey 2022 to understand impact of Flourish pregnancy and mom & baby classes.
• Government and Government-contracted NGOscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with government and government-contracted NGOs to train and equip community health workers (Grow Great Champions) who support maternal and child health at household level.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DG Murray Trust: Major South African philanthropic funder and Grow Great's primary strategic partner; operates in early childhood development, education and health, and provides significant co-funding and infrastructure for Grow Great's campaigns.
• PATH: Global health nonprofit with active maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition programs including in South Africa. Comparable in mission and CHW-centered delivery models, though operating at much larger scale.
• Save the Children South Africa: International NGO active in South Africa across maternal and child health, nutrition and early childhood development. Comparable target population and overlapping programmatic focus, though embedded in a broader global portfolio.
• Nelson Mandela Children's Fund: South African children's rights and welfare funder; comparable as a national-scope child-focused nonprofit using advocacy and partnerships to address child wellbeing in South Africa.
• UNICEF South Africa: UN agency focused on child rights, nutrition and maternal health in South Africa, including stunting prevention advocacy. Operates at far larger scale but addresses the same beneficiary population and policy agenda as Grow Great.

Direct peers

• mothers2mothers: African peer-support nonprofit employing mothers living with HIV as community health workers to support maternal and child health — directly analogous to Grow Great's Flourish host and Champions model across multiple African countries.
• Soul City Institute: South African NGO using mass-media storytelling and community mobilization for public health (HIV, GBV, maternal and child health). Closely comparable to Grow Great's storytelling-driven Campaigns & Advocacy pillar.
• loveLife: South African youth-focused health and development nonprofit running national community programs, advocacy and content campaigns — comparable in GTM motion (community-led, storytelling, multi-channel) and target beneficiary geography.
• Philani Maternal, Child Health & Nutrition Trust: South African nonprofit operating community-based maternal and child health programs, including home-visiting mentor-mother models. Directly comparable to Grow Great Flourish and Champions, and already a Grow Great training partner.

Others

• Nutrition Society of South Africa: Professional society advancing nutrition science and policy in South Africa. Adjacent — provides research, conferences, and policy voice in nutrition, an area Grow Great depends on for evidence and M&E validation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/growgreatza
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@growgreatcampaign9889
• Facebookfacebook.com/growgreatza
• Instagraminstagram.com/growgreatcampaign
• TikToktiktok.com/@growgreatcampaign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grow Great