"Reading Glasses" = Working Glasses

After the age of 40, many people begin to lose the ability to focus up close and find that they need glasses for the first time. Ask anyone in the United States who wears reading glasses, and she would say that without her reading glasses, she simply can't function — she can't read the newspaper or a menu in a restaurant. He can't type on his Blackberry or dial a cell phone. Many people keep 20 pairs around the house — by the phone, at the office, in each purse — so they will never be left without sight.

But outside the US and Europe, access to this crucial tool for daily living is not a reality. Without glasses, weavers cannot set their looms, farmers cannot sort seeds before planting, artisans cannot see enough detail to create intricate designs. A drop in productivity and income among middle-aged workers, many of whom support both children and elderly parents, can push already-vulnerable families over the edge. Without clear vision, millions of the world's poorest people lose income or drop out of the labor force altogether, forcing their families and communities deeper into poverty. A simple pair of low-cost reading glasses, long available in every drugstore in the United States, can restore their vision, productivity, and dignity. Investment in one pair of glasses can generate a greater than 27X return to the wearer, creating a ripple effect of economic improvement in the world's poorest communities.

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700 Years of Progress

Invented in the late 1200s, reading glasses are a simple technology that correct presbyopia, a natural condition of the eye the affects nearly everyone as they reach middle age, regardless of race, gender, or income.

David Landes, a Harvard historian, describes eyeglasses as one of the crucial inventions that allowed for other inventions and, indeed, the development of Europe, noting in the book The Wealth and Poverty of Nations that "eyeglasses made it possible to do fine work and use fine instruments. But also the converse: eyeglasses encouraged the invention of fine instruments, indeed pushed Europe in a direction found nowhere else," as well as "doubled the skilled craft workforce."

Today, 700 years later, most of the world still does not have access to eyeglasses. While villagers in even the most rural reaches of Bangladesh or Guatemala can buy a bottle of Coca-Cola, those who need eyeglasses to see and work are unable to access this most basic tool for daily life.

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Access. Awareness. Affordability

VisionSpring focuses on three points of leverage to enact a market shift and make reading available to all who need them.

ACCESS

The Problem: In the developing world, eyeglasses are primarily available in high-priced urban optical shops. For the rural poor, a trip to buy glasses requires travel to an urban center to visit an eye doctor, which is often a day-long trip each way. On top of the cost of custom glasses, they must pay for transportation and doctor's fees and take time off from work.

The VisionSpring Solution: VisionSpring's "Business in a Bag" empowers local Vision Entrepreneurs to sell low-cost, high-quality eyeglasses in the hardest-to-reach areas. VisionSpring glasses are available to customers on a consistent basis right in their communities and are sold by knowledgeable representatives trained to conduct visions screenings and make referrals to reputable eye hospitals for those needing advanced care.

AWARENESS

The Problem: In the developing world, the rural poor often assume that near vision loss is inevitable and treatable only in ways they cannot afford. Most people are unaware that a simple, affordable product exists to restore their clear vision, and many assume that only expensive prescription glasses will solve their vision problems.

The VisionSpring Solution: Vision Entrepreneurs 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 health clinic, and sometimes attract hundreds of people in need of vision care. But perhaps our best advertisers are our customers themselves — after they have experienced the benefits of clear sight, they quickly spread the word to family and friends, who seek out Vision Entrepreneurs to purchase glasses for themselves.

AFFORDABILITY

The Problem: Across the developing world, eyeglasses are sold at significant margins by eye doctors and optical shops. A pair of custom eyeglasses costs anywhere from $40-60, a price truly out of reach for those living on less than $4 a day.

The VisionSpring Solution: VisionSpring glasses are available for approximately $4 a pair. By taking eyeglasses out of the exclusive hands of eyecare professionals, VisionSpring is transforming eyeglasses into a basic consumer product. This mimics the same shift that occurred in the US over 30 years ago, when "reading" glasses became over-the-counter product available in every corner drugstore.

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