About Us
Strengthening Business Through Effective Investments in Children and Youth
ReadyNation International (RNI) was founded in 2014 and was active through 2021. While operating, ReadyNation International conducted work in five countries and included over 200 members worldwide.
For inquiries about RNI’s work, please contact Nancy Fishman at nfishman@readynation.org. Learn about ReadyNation’s domestic work on our website: www.strongnation.org/readynation
Our History
Since 2014, ReadyNation expanded its reach to include work outside the United States under the name ReadyNation International (RNI). RNI helps countries around the world create their own networks of business champions to advance public and private investments in young children in order to improve the future global workforce. While ReadyNation’s domestic network in the U.S. has about 3,000 business leader members, RNI counts on approximately 200 members internationally.
To achieve this, RNI pursues a multi-pronged approach:
- Technical assistance to help countries create their own networks of business champions who take a variety of actions to support young children
- Hold high-profile business leader summits on early childhood
- Provide research that makes the economic case for early childhood investments and showcases global business leadership
- ReadyNation leadership participates in international speaking engagements to provide information on the “why” and “how” to organize business leaders to support early childhood development
Some highlights of RNI work are as follows:
- Working with leaders in Uganda, Romania, and Australia to help create their own sustainable networks of business advocates for early childhood.
- Working with executives in Brazil and in Mexico to help raise awareness about early childhood as a business issue critical to workforce development and the economy through events and other targeted engagements.
- Organizing successful, high-profile events and conferences:
- The first Global Business Summit on Early Childhood Investments (2015)
- The first European Forum on Early Childhood (2016)
- Global Business Summit on Early Childhood (2018)
- Creating two open letters to the UN from more than 150 business leaders across the global to include early childhood in the SDGs and subsequently celebrating that achievement. This was the only public statement by a business group at the time.
- Developing a variety of publications to showcase business actions on early childhood.
- Presenting at various international conferences to provide information on “why” and “how” to successfully organize business leaders to support early childhood education and care.