President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Image source: Presidency)
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on businesses to invest in digital learning resources and connectivity at early childhood development (ECD) centres.
He said technology can help prepare children for a future shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
Addressing the Bana Pele Leadership Summit 2026 in Johannesburg on Monday, Ramaphosa said digital technologies will transform how children learn and work, but stressed that technology must complement, rather than replace, foundational education.
“Artificial intelligence, automation and other technologies will transform how they live, learn and work.”
Ramaphosa said early childhood development is critical to preparing South Africa’s future workforce, as children will need to develop the skills to adapt to technological change.
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“We must therefore prepare our children not merely to use the technologies of the future, but to think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively and adapt to change.”
He called on the private sector to support early learning centres through infrastructure upgrades, practitioner training, learning materials, digital resources and internet connectivity.
“Businesses can help to build and upgrade early learning centres. They can support the training and professional development of practitioners. They can subsidise access for children from poor households. They can provide learning materials, digital resources and connectivity.”
Ramaphosa noted that technology can help early learning practitioners reach more children and deliver learning content at scale, while maintaining the importance of teachers and traditional learning materials.
“Technology is no substitute for learning to read, write and count. But it is an enabler, with the power to transform how early learning is delivered in our country and at scale.”
He cited a reading application that offers phonics exercises, teaching materials and an online library containing more than 4 000 books as an example of how technology could support early education.
“Technology cannot replace teachers or books. What it can do is multiply what one well-trained practitioner can deliver, reaching many more children at different levels with the same resource.”
The president also highlighted the role of improved data systems in strengthening the country’s ECD sector.
The Bana Pele Shared Blueprint, which aims to achieve universal access to early childhood development by 2030, seeks to move the sector away from fragmented programmes towards connected systems of support.
It also aims to strengthen data systems to improve planning and establish clearer processes for registering facilities and programmes and training practitioners.
The reforms come as around one million children aged three to five are not enrolled in any early learning programme, according to Ramaphosa.
South Africa has more than 39 000 registered early learning programmes, providing care to over 1.6 million children, he said.
Government is intensifying its Bana Pele Mass Registration Drive to expand access to early learning and make more eligible facilities available for subsidies.
Ramaphosa said revised norms and standards for early learning centres were gazetted earlier this year, while Cabinet had approved the Children’s Amendment Bill for submission to Parliament.
He said registration requirements should protect children without unnecessarily excluding centres serving poor communities.
“We must uphold the health and safety of children while helping facilities improve. We must not allow administrative complexity to become a barrier to opportunity,” he said.
Ramaphosa said early learning should be viewed as an investment in South Africa’s long-term economic development, particularly as technology changes the skills required in the workplace.
“However advanced it becomes, it will still rely on human skill and ability,” he noted, referring to the role of technology in making businesses more competitive and profitable.
He said quality early learning could help children develop literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills before entering formal schooling, while reducing developmental gaps that leave many unable to read for meaning by Grade 4.
The president also urged businesses to make early childhood development a central part of their corporate social investment and broader economic development strategies.
“I would like to see early childhood development become a central part of corporate social investment and broader economic development strategies.
“With the support of UNICEF, curriculum support packs are now available in all of the country's official languages.”
Ramaphosa called on government, municipalities, businesses and civil society to work together to expand access to early learning, saying the country’s future workforce would depend on the foundations established during children’s earliest years.