The Unlimited Child

Our Founder.

With a vision to create a company based on love and with the power to positively shift South Africa, Iain founded The Unlimited in 1994.

An entrepreneur and philanthropist, he worked within the corporate landscape for more than six years, until realising that business can and should do better.

Despite firing himself from his roles both as CEO and Chairman, Iain has successfully led the company to employ more than 2 000 people who collectively take care of over 600 000 customers (or family members as he calls them!).

Outside of developing more than 1 000 entrepreneurs and successful independent business owners, The Unlimited also founded The Unlimited Child in 2008. An independently registered non-profit and public benefits organisation, The Unlimited Child’s unique model has made more than one million South African children school-ready. In addition, Iain has, together with his three children, co-authored and published a book on leadership.

Iain’s adventurous spirit has taken him on a trek to the South Pole (just months before undergoing a quadruple heart bypass!) and to climb the highest mountain in Antarctica. He has also climbed Kilimanjaro, cycled over 450kms across the Namib Desert to Walvis Bay with his wife Carol, and run his first marathon at age 72.

Ian Buchan 2

Iain Buchan

  • Testing Phase

    2009 - 2010
    The Unlimited begins supporting local KZN crèches, impacting around 400 children per year.
  • Programme Growth

    2010 - 2015
    The Unlimited Child was founded as a separate non-profit organisation, while The Unlimited remains the primary funder.The Unlimited Child’s impact grows to 489 ECD Centres and over 30 000 children in 3 provinces within SA. The first independent study shows the programme’s effectiveness, success and scalability.
  • Upscaling and Evidence Programming

    2016 - And Beyond
    The Unlimited Child scales up in human resource capacity and seeks external like-minded social and corporate social investment funding. The Unlimited funds the majority of operational costs (programme funding is all external CSI). And the impact is dramatic: Grows to reach over 3 000 ECD Centres and 1 Million children across all 8 provinces of SA, now tracked to grow internationally. A second independent study, the Early Learnings Programmes Outcomes (ELPO), shows the programme to be one of the most effective in SA.
  • The Future

    2022 - And Beyond
    Exponentially growing to Africa, The Middle East and beyond because we know that if we don’t pitch our goals high, children will be left behind and their future starts now!
The Champ
Ball

unlimiting 2 million dreams.

We’re about shifting lives.

With so many communities lacking quality early childhood development (ECD) resources, leaving parents no choice but to place their children in untrained childminding facilities, we knew that we could unlock the potential in these existing facilities to unlimit children’s dreams.

Our Directors.

Iain Buchan

Iain Buchan
Founding Chairman

With a vision to create a company based on love, and with the power to positively shift South Africa, Iain founded The Unlimited in 1994.

His unorthodox approach to business has seen him impact the lives of millions of South Africans, and his adventurous spirit has taken him to the South Pole, up Antarctica’s highest mountain and to Kilimanjaro, to name but a few!

Wallis Watt

Wallis Watt
Chairperson

Serving as Chairperson of The Unlimited for five years and The Unlimited Child for three, Wallis brings a level head and a steady hand to the business, driving absolute focus and discipline.

Her achievements outside the boardroom include the completion of several trail runs and an ultramarathon, as well as co-authoring a book.

Candice Potgieter

Candice Potgieter
Chief Executive Officer

Holding a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a postgraduate degree in Applied Physics, Candice was also a part of the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme at The University of Cape Town.

She was also chosen out of 50 000 applicants in Africa as a Mandela Washington Fellow to expand on her tertiary qualification at the University of Notre Dame in United States.

Making a difference has always been at the heart of what Candice does. In 2016 she joined The Unlimited Child to lead the organisation in reaching its goal of shifting over one million children’s lives. Her personal dream has always been to create a better world for children through creating an equitable society where they can thrive!

Our team.

Roseisha Ishwardutt

Roseisha Ishwardutt
Chief of Operations

Nazley Giquel
Programme Associate

Thobile Misimang

Thobile Msimang
Quality Assurance

Bongiwe Hadebe

Bongiwe Hadebe
Training & Development

Siphesihle Portia Makhanya

Siphesihle Portia Makhanya
Finance & Administration

Nomvula Biyela
Programme Manager

Bokamoso Mokore
Monitoring & Evaluation Manager

Our Partners

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Our Location

3 BLVD Westway Office Park, Dawncliffe, Westville, Durban, 3629