Affirma buys Singapore preschool chain

Little Paddington has grown from a single location in the high-income district of Serangoon in 2015 to five schools across Singapore. It claims to focus on holistic child-led experiential learning with specially designed classrooms to cater to the needs of different age groups, as well as indoor and outdoor environments to support multiple modes of learning and fostering talent.

Affirma will support existing management to expand the company’s domestic footprint while maintaining and institutionalising the quality service offering. The private equity firm has experience in this space with China’s Etonkids Education Group, an English kindergarten operator it invested in 2015 and has since exited.

“We have created a bespoke learning experience for children through our well-rounded and robust curriculum, focus on pastoral care, nurturing educators and a real sense of family and community,” Anandita Singh Raha, CEO of Little Paddington, said in a statement. “Our goal is to ensure that our child-centric curriculum is available to preschoolers in every neighbourhood in Singapore.”

Affirma, known as Standard Chartered Private Equity until a spinout in 2018, is a pan-emerging markets investor with about USD 3.5bn in assets under management. Recent investment activity in Southeast Asia includes Momo, a Vietnamese e-wallet Momo that raised USD 300m last year and was valued at USD 2bn in December.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Singapore
• Affirma Capital
• Education