Center for Health Market Innovations (CHMI)

Programs

VisionSpring

last updated Sep 27, 2011

Overview

Implementation Partner(s): 
Aid to Artisans, AMS & Co., BASIX, BRAC, Cause for Hope, Cedes, Darby Communications, Debevoise & Plimpton LLC, Development Alternatives Group, Drishtee, Freedom from Hunger, FUDEM, Fundacion Paraguaya, Guardian Life Care, HUL Project Shakti, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, NFFCP, Peace Corps, PSI, Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Salesforce.com, Social Entrepreneur Corps, Soluciones Comunitarias, Under Consideration, Vedanta Resources, Village Welfare Society, Vision 2020, Visualiza, WDB Group, William Davidson Institute, World Resources Institute, ?What If? Innovation
Legal Status: 
Private (not-for-profit)
Year Launched: 
2001
Stage: 
Existing/expansion stage
Income Level of Target Population: 
Bottom 20%

Funding

Primary Source of Funding: 
Out-of-pocket payments
Additional Source(s) of Funding: 
Other 3rd party (e.g. debt, equity)
Funders: 
Acumen Fund, Open Society Institute

Scale

Personnel Employed: 
100<
Number of Clients Served: 
362,107 glasses sold to date
Other Measures of Scale: 
Over 5,230 active Vision Entrepreneurs
Summary: 

VisionSpring works to provide affordable eyeglasses to tens of thousands of poor customers across the developing world, while simultaneously providing sustainable jobs and access to vision care in the world's poorest, most remote communities.

Key program components: 

An important component of VisionSpring's approach involves training rural community members to become Vision Entrepreneurs (VEs). VisionSpring loans entrepreneurs a "Business in a Bag" microfranchise. The Business in a Bag contains all the products and materials needed for marketing and selling eyeglasses, as well as tracking customer information, managing inventory, and running a small business. Business in a Bag empowers local VEs to sell low-cost, high-quality eyeglasses in the hardest-to-reach areas, as well as to conduct visions screenings and make referrals to reputable eye hospitals for those needing advanced care. Vision Entrepreneurs undergo a three-day training in basic eye care and business management and receive close, ongoing support from staff. Furthermore, VEs learn to conduct marketing and education campaigns in nearby villages, including passing out flyers, putting on skits, and making radio announcement, among other mediums. They host one-day vision campaigns, often with support of the mayor or a health clinic, and sometimes attract hundreds of people in need of vision care.

VisionSpring glasses are available for approximately $4 a pair and VEs repay VisionSpring for the cost of glasses once they have been sold. The program has over 5,230 active vision entrepreneurs, and has sold more than 362,100 pairs of glasses to date.

Program history: 

Both Scojo Foundation and Scojo New York, a high-end reading glasses company serving the US market, were formed in 2001. Five percent of the pre-tax profits from Scojo New York were designated for the Scojo Foundation. In 2008, after the sale of Scojo New York, Scojo Foundation changed its name to VisionSpring, launching a new identity reflecting its mission to reduce poverty and generate opportunity in the developing world through vision. The Open Society Institute provided seed capital to launch the first pilot in India.

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