Leadership

1. Status: Approved Jun 2008 Since: new VisionSpring • Leadership • Dr. Jordan Kassalow, founder & chairman, is an optometrist with an entrepreneurial streak and a master’s in public health. Built and sold chain of optometry stores. Founder of Global Health Policy Program at Council on Foreign Relations. Received Draper Richards Fellowship, Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship. • Problem • Over 700 million of the world’s poor have failing up-close vision, which means they are at risk of losing their livelihoods because they can’t sew, sort coffee beans, or cut hair. • Mission • Correct the vision of presbyopic (far-sighted) people in poverty by providing market access to affordable reading glasses. • Donations • 2004: $289,648 • 2005: $445,093 • 2006: $858,879 • Stats • Glasses sold: 147,613 • Active vision entrepreneurs: 867 • Concept • Apply the “Avon Lady” sales model to train, equip, and deploy individual merchants to sell low-cost reading glasses in villages. • Use a market-based approach to increase access to reading glasses: • Making it profitable for mobile salespeople to sell in their communities. • Offering products that are otherwise unavailable or unaffordable to the poor. • Deploy franchise business model and replicate system with NGO and business partners with existing sales forces or microfinance clients. Woman takes eye exam in India • Analysis • Reading glasses -- similar to the kind sold on carousel racks in pharmacies and grocery stores in the U.S. -- can make the difference between earning an income or falling into destitution. Many of the world’s poor rely on their close-up vision to make a living; these glasses extend their productivity and protect their livelihoods and families. • Effective intervention at a cost that will be driven down as the program is scaled and partner organizations like BRAC and Freedom from Hunger implement the system within their existing sales channels. • $50k grant to hire a Franchise Partner Manager to develop relationships with organizations in Bangladesh and eastern India that want to implement VisionSpring’s business-in-a-bag for vision entrepreneurs. • Of that amount, $32k will be spent on training and equipping 500 salespeople through BRAC partnership in Bangladesh. • Goal is to create a job that pays for itself by 2010 (see plan below). • Long-term plan to introduce additional vision and development products for the poor thru this distribution channel. • Model • Utilize founder’s contacts and optometry expertise to source low-cost reading glasses from China. • Establish proprietary network of “vision entrepreneurs” with supply chain, training tools, and management. • VEs establish relationship with village chief, publicize a “vision camp” to draw villagers for vision screening, basic exam, and purchase. • Connect with local eye hospitals to make referrals for cases requiring medical attention. • Sell system to other partners: For fee, provide training, products, and technical assistance. Plan for Franchise Partner Manager • Progress • Launched in 2001 as corporate foundation of Scojo New York, the optometry chain, with 5% of pre-tax profits. Kassalow sold biz in 08, re-branded independent foundation as VisionSpring. • Now in India, Bangladesh, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ghana. Pilots in Paraguay, Nicaragua. DWFF contact: Josh Kwan, Dir of Int’l Giving, joshkwan.dwff@gmail.com Updated: 8/08. Site visit: 12/07 in India. www.visionspring.org