Several social enterprises, NGOs, and major corporations aim to meet the demand for lower-cost products in emerging economies. Organizations such as VisionSpring, DOT, and GV2020 offer readers and ready-to-clip models to NGOs and private sector buyers, including pharmacy chains. Organizations like Lapaire and RestoringVision are focusing on providing affordable, quality eyewear in LMIC markets by distributing products through their retail shops and programmes respectively.
VisionSpring is a social enterprise established in 2001 with a mission focused on expanding the use of eyeglasses in emerging and frontier markets. It aims to enhance lifelong learning, safety, and well-being through eyeglasses, particularly for people vulnerable to poverty, defined as those living on less than 4 dollars per day. VisionSpring delivers quality reading glasses and frames to low-income underserved customers for as close to a dollar as possible. Key activities include delivering optical products and services, developing markets for eyeglasses, catalysing collective action, and influencing systemic change in the sector. Since 2001, VisionSpring has distributed over 8.7 million pairs of eyeglasses in more than 20 countries.
DOT Glasses is deploying an innovative supply chain solution aimed at providing affordable prescription lenses for LMIC markets. Founded in 2014, DOT Glasses offer one- size-fits-all eyeglasses. The Good Enough Vision Approach is assuming that 90 per cent correction is close to perfect with a maximum variance of ±0.75 dioptre. This approach enhances access to better vision in LMICs while reducing dependency on expensive equipment and highly trained eyecare professionals for addressing basic refractive errors and decreasing expenses for individuals seeking vision care. Using DOT Glasses’ testing process, snap-together frames and pre-cut lenses, individuals can receive corrected vision in just minutes, without repeat visits that are a feature of traditional optometry in LMIC markets. However, the benefits and costs of this ‘imperfect’ fitting model are still debated within the industry and it has not yet become mainstream.
Global Vision 2020 was established to address the lack of eyeglasses distribution in LMICs, primarily in Africa, South America, and parts of Asia. Its main product, the USee Vision Kit™, is aimed at partner organizations such as hospitals, clinics, NGOs, and faith-based organizations. The kit includes products needed for these organizations to perform basic vision screenings (refraction) and provide eyeglasses. 81 (See the Product Catalogue Annex.)
Lapaire Glasses was founded in 2018 and now operates 40 optical shops across Africa with over 200 employees. The company offers free vision tests and aims to provide quality, affordable eyeglasses across major African cities and then in rural
64areas. Eyeglasses prices range from around 30 dollars (standard lenses) to 90 dollars (progressive photochromic). 82
RestoringVision is a 20-year-old non-profit organization focused on providing people who live on less than 2 dollars a day with the vision services and eyeglasses they need to see clearly. In 2022 alone, they empowered 3.3 million people with eyeglasses and vision services, 3 million of whom received reading glasses. 83
Table 27: Social enterprises and NGOs focusing on emerging markets
Company | Product | Manufacturing Sites | Presence |
---|---|---|---|
DOT Glasses (Kenya) |
|
|
Presence in six countries– Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africai with distribution to the United States and Zimbabwe. |
GV 2020 (USA) |
A kit with different eyewear products: Frames Lenses (snap-in lenses) Reading glasses Vision screening products |
Information not available | Has delivered glasses in 65 countries |
Lapaire ii (Kenya) |
|
Information not available | Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Togo and Uganda. |
Company | Product | Manufacturing Sites | Presence |
---|---|---|---|
Restoring Vision iii (USA) |
|
Information not available | 90 countries served in 2022. 147 countries have been served since its establishment. |
VisionSpring (USA) |
|
India, China, Bangladesh, Viet Namiv |
Focus on LMICs; distributed products in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. v In 2022, 75 per cent of sales were in the Indian subcontinent and 17 per cent in Africa. vi Offices in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Viet Nam, Zambia, and China. |
iDot Glasses company official website, https://www.dotglasses.org/home/. ↩︎
iiLapaire company official website, https://lapaire.africa/pages/about-us. ↩︎
iiiRestoringVIsion official website, https://restoringvision.org/about/. ↩︎
ivVisionSpring Moves Manufacturing from China to India to Create a Clear Vision India, https://visionspring. org/Files/Images/about-us/Media-Room/VisionSpring-Moves-Manufacturing-from-China-to-India-to- Create-a-Clear-Vision-India.pdf. ↩︎
vVisionSpring Annual Report 2022, https://visionspring.org/Files/Images/Financials/VS-AnnualReport-2022_ VS4237A.pdf. ↩︎
viIbid. ↩︎