Scojo Microfranchises Deliver Affordable Reading Glasses to the Rural Poor
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care: Solutions People Want competition.
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Focus of activity
Product/procedure
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
2001
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Health care not consumer friendly
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Center consumers in business model
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic:
Scojo Foundation's focus is on developing market-based models for the delivery of over-the-counter healthcare products to rural consumers.
Name Your Project
Scojo Microfranchises Deliver Affordable Reading Glasses to the Rural Poor
Describe Your Idea
Define the innovation
Scojo is transforming the face of vision care for the rural poor. Scojo brings basic eye care right to the village level and empowers the local community to manage their own basic eye problems without expensive doctors and costly infrastructure. Scojo’s rural customers can visit a trained Vision Entrepreneur in their own village, determine if they have presbyopia or a more serious eye condition, and purchase reading glasses for a price from $3-10. In most developing countries, eye health care and reading glasses are seen exclusively as services of opticians and eye doctors, making basic eye health care inaccessible for the rural poor, yet reading glasses are a health product that do not require a doctor or optician’s supervision. Scojo Foundation is demedicalizing basic reading glasses, mimicking the shift that occurred in the West over 30 years ago, which resulted in affordable reading being available in drugstores rather than just optical shops. Vision Entrepreneurs are not doctors; they are village-based entrepreneurs trained to raise awareness about eye health, sell eye health products, and act as a point of triage into the medical system, which reduces the burden on the strained eye care system. In the long term, Scojo’s model is helping to transform the mindset about how to deliver products and services to the rural poor. Scojo views marginalized people as customers who have the right to purchase quality products and deserve the dignity of choice. Scojo-branded glasses are designed pro-bono by one of the world’s top eyewear designers in a variety of styles and price points. Scojo’s model has proven that poor customers do not always choose the cheapest option; many choose a slightly more expensive product if they like the way it looks. Further, Scojo has found that, just like the rest of the world, poor customers are more likely to value products they purchase themselves and can take ownership over, rather than something that was given to them as aid.
Context for Disruption:
Scojo Foundation improves vision and creates jobs in developing countries through its microfranchising model. Scojo disrupts the non-existent system for getting reading glasses to the poor by establishing a rural distribution infrastructure. Mimicking the shift that occurred in the West over 30 years ago that brought over-the-counter reading glasses to drugstores, Scojo aims to demedicalize reading glasses and get them into the hands of the world’s poor. The developing world suffers from a widespread market failure for reading glasses. People over 35 lose their near vision due to presbyopia, a natural affect of aging that can be treated with over-the-counter reading glasses. Yet this simple solution is not available to the over 700 million people who live in rural villages and can no longer see up close to work. For people such as tailors, mechanics, farmers, and housewives whose precarious working lives require clear up-close vision, a lack of access to reading glasses can have disastrous economic consequences. To purchase reading glasses, a customer would first have to recognize that he or she has an eye condition; travel to an urban center (often a day-long trip each way) to visit an eye doctor, paying for transportation and doctor’s fees while losing valuable working time; and purchase a pair of custom reading glasses for anywhere from $40-60, a price out of reach for those who live on $1-2 dollars a day. Through microfranchising, Scojo trains and equips village-based “Vision Entrepreneurs” to conduct vision screenings, sell affordable reading glasses, and refer those in need of advanced eye care to partner eye clinics. Vision Entrepreneurs live in the same villages as their customers; they teach their fellow community members about basic vision care and the benefits of reading glasses and help them to choose the correct strength. They sell high-quality, branded Scojo reading glasses for as little as $3, for which they earn $1 per pair.
Delivery Model
To reach the rural poor, Scojo delivers reading glasses to village-based Vision Entrepreneurs for $1, who buy the glasses on consignment for $1-3 and sell them to their rural customers for a price between $3-10, depending on location and style. Scojo empowers Franchise Partners, including NGOs, corporations, and government agencies with distribution infrastructures to reach the rural poor, to implement Scojo’s Vision Entrepreneur model. Partners receive training and technical assistance from Scojo but take responsibility for day-to-day implementation, enabling Scojo to rapidly achieve scale without having to build its own costly infrastructure. Scojo has also developed distribution partnerships with organizations that can distribute Scojo reading glasses to urban and peri-urban customers. Scojo also employs a variety of social marketing and outreach techniques, such as wall paintings, skits, radio spots, and flyers. Vision Entrepreneurs are encouraged to speak with local leaders and ask them to refer potential customers, who in turn refer more customers and spread word around their villages. They also offer vision screenings and referrals to partner eye hospitals free of charge, a service that draws in potential customers and increases their visibility and credibility. The total market for reading glasses is approximately 75% of people age 35 and older. Scojo measures its market penetration by comparing the number of sales in a particular village to the population in that villages aged 35 and up. Scojo’s current market penetration is up to 50% in the villages where it has developed a significant presence over two years. We expect that percentage to rise, though it may never reach 100% because people who need reading glasses will be willing to pay for them. We also expect Vision Entrepreneurs to sustain sales in the villages they have already targeted because most customers need to replace their reading glasses with a higher power approximately every two years.
Key Operational Partnerships
Scojo Foundation has nearly 30 partnerships across nine countries. These partners vary from eye hospitals which receive Vision Entrepreneur referrals to Franchise Partners which license and implement full Scojo programs without any Scojo staff present. Examples include:
India
• Hindustan Lever’s Project Shakti (corporate)
• Drishtee (private)
• Andhra Pradesh Weavers Society (government)
• Vedanta – mining company (corporate)
• Byrraju Foundation (corporate/social)
• ITC e-Choupals (corporate)
• Basix – microfinance (social)
• E-Sewa (government)
• Lace Park Societies (government)
• L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (eye care)
• Vision 2020 India a – a WHO initiative (eye care)
Bangladesh
• BRAC (social)
Central America
• Community Enterprise Solutions – Guatemala (social)
• One Roof – Mexico (corporate)
• Visualiza – Guatemala (eye care)
• FUDEM – El Salvador (eye care)
Africa
• PSI (social)
• Freedom From Hunger – Ghana (social)
Scojo’s partnership with PSI, the world’s leading social marketing organization, leverages Scojo’s expertise in designing high-quality, affordable reading glasses for developing markets with PSI's vast pharmaceutical distribution infrastructure and local marketing knowledge. The partnership will make low-cost reading glasses available to virtually all sub-Saharan Africa. In Bangladesh, BRAC is training its over 57,000 community health workers to sell Scojo reading glasses, covering 80% of the country. Such partnerships are fundamental to Scojo's work.
Financial Model
The cornerstone of Scojo’s innovative value chain is its ability to source low-cost, high-quality reading glasses and deliver them anywhere in the world for $1. Scojo sells the glasses to its network of village-based Vision Entrepreneurs for $1-3, depending on the country. Vision Entrepreneurs then sell the glasses to their customers for anywhere from $3-10, depending on location and style. This system creates revenue at each point on the chain, creating a sustainable income for Vision Entrepreneurs and generating revenue at the country level for Scojo. Scojo’s Franchise Partner helps expand Scojo’s reach while generating revenue for Scojo headquarters. The first stage of a partnership consists of a Feasibility Study, the price of which includes the cost of time and travel for Scojo staff. The feasibility study determines if the partnership will move onto a six-month Pilot Program in which the partner pays for Scojo to train the organization and the first cadre of Vision Entrepreneurs and supply the organization with micro-franchise kits, including products. Following the successful completion of a pilot is the Commercial Stage, a full-scale program in which each organization earns a profit on each pair of glasses sold. Revenue generated from Franchise Partnerships brings in unrestricted money for Scojo’s New York office, supplementing contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. As a result of these revenue drivers, Scojo is 95% self-sustained in Guatemala, 85% in El Salvador, and 25% in India. The reasons for these variations are: size of market (requires reinvestment in expansion), size of operations (staff size and operational capacity), and profit margin (less in India and greater in Central America). Scojo is 100% self-sustained in Mexico, Ghana, and Africa due to licensing fees we receive for technical assistance and products from our Franchise Partners. Overall, Scojo Foundation is 27% self-sustaining, including headquarters costs.
What is your annual operating budget?
750,000
What are your current sources of revenue? (please list any sources that are foundation grants)
Scojo Foundation’s revenues come from
• Product Sales
• Franchise Partner Service Fees
• Individual Donations
• Institutional Grants
o AED/USAID
o David and Katherine Moore Family Foundation
o Draper Richards Foundation
o United Methodist Church, Women's Division
o The Norman and Barbara Seiden Foundation
o The Canary Charitable Foundation
o Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
o Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
o The International Foundation
o Lavelle Fund for the Blind
o Mulago Foundation
o Open Society Institute
o Oswald Family Foundation
o The Starr Foundation
o World Bank
o The Kenneth B. and Stephanie Schwartz Family Trust
o Scojo Vision, LLC
Effectiveness
Scojo has impacted the lives of over 383,133 people in nine different countries; our network of 1,046 Vision Entrepreneurs has screened over 248,161 people for eye conditions, sold 62,340 pairs of glasses to customers, and connected 71,586 people with advanced eye conditions to partner eye hospitals. For Vision Entrepreneurs, the sale of just one unit of reading glasses doubles their previous daily income. In addition, we have empowered 26 Franchise Partners to implement our model, bringing affordable reading glasses to previously underserved communities and generating revenue for organizations focused on providing products and services to the rural poor. Our clients’ lives are impacted by wearing reading glasses, which improves their productivity, enabling them to earn more money to invest in healthcare, education, food, housing, and clothing for their families and creating an economic ripple effect with more goods and services being bought and sold in marginalized communities. Vision Entrepreneurs and social marketing campaigns raise awareness about causes of vision loss and where to receive treatment. Scojo’s programs also empower communities. Through organizing eye campaigns and training Vision Entrepreneurs, communities learn how to better mobilize themselves, recognize their rights as consumers, and respect dignity of choice. As a result, many local village mayors and councils prioritize vision care and partner with Vision Entrepreneurs to publicize and host vision campaigns. In addition, the global eye care community, including WHO and UNESCO, is taking note of the impact of sustainable innovations such as Scojo Foundation and connects eye hospitals with Scojo’s programs. Partner eye hospitals rely on Vision Entrepreneurs to refer patients who live far from urban centers. Scojo is also working to make reading glasses a non-prescription product in India through social marketing campaigns and meetings with government officials and health policy makers.
Which element of the program proved itself most effective?
Scojo’s model is successful largely due to the nature of the product itself. Reading glasses are a simple, proven product that was developed in the 1300s. Today they can be sourced at very high quality at an affordable price, making possible a fully sustainable supply chain with an affordable end product for the world’s poorest customers. They are also a product with immediate benefits; when a customer tries on reading glasses and can see clearly for the first time in years, they recognize the value and are motivated to immediately make the purchase. When they take the product home, they see a major increase in their economic product and quality of life. A tailor can sew more efficiently and accurately and can work longer hours. Churchgoers can read the fine print in their bibles. Family and friends of customers see the effects and are motivated to seek out a Vision Entrepreneur to purchase their own pair.
Reading glasses are small and easy to transport, making Scojo’s mobile Vision Entrepreneur model effective at delivering products right to the doorsteps of customers. Scojo’s microfranchise “business in a bag” model is a replicable, scaleable blueprint for success, making rapid expansion of the program possible and meaning tens of thousands more people who have access to reading glasses each year. The transportability and universality of the product along with the microfranchise model mean that Scojo’s franchise partners can successfully adopt the model in any country of the world and bring it to sustainability within a short period of time. This macro-franchise model exponentially increases Scojo’s impact while bringing in additional revenue to offset Scojo’s operating costs and leading to greater sustainability.
Number of clients in the last year?
In the last year alone, Scojo Foundation served 168,485 people. We successfully trained 703 Vision Entrepreneurs to start their own microfranchises. In turn, our network of Vision Entrepreneurs screened 124,949 people for eye conditions, sold 31,537 pairs of reading glasses, and connected 11,296 people in need of advanced eye care to partner clinics.
What is the potential demand?
There are over 700 million people worldwide in need of reading glasses due to presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs naturally in 95% of people aged 35 years and older and happens regardless of race, location, or income. The ability to obtain reading glasses, however, is limited to the developed world, where reading glasses are accessible and affordable. The inability to see clearly up-close affects everyone, however, for those whose precarious working lives depend on near vision, such as weavers, artisans, mechanics, and farmers, a lack of access to reading glasses can have disastrous economic consequences. While the potential demand is massive and spread across all continents, the challenge for Scojo Foundation is to educate potential customers about the benefits of reading glasses and to continue making reading glasses and eye care services accessible and affordable to low-income communities around the world.
Scaling up Strategy
Recognizing that innovative techniques are necessary for continued rapid expansion, Scojo is beginning to implement a network model to further empower high-performing Vision Entrepreneurs and expand its impact. Top-performing Vision Entrepreneurs will each manage a small team of lower-performing Vision Entrepreneurs, serving as role models and teaching techniques to improve sales. Top Vision Entrepreneurs will earn a commission based on the sales of their team. This model will allow Scojo Foundation to manage a larger network of Vision Entrepreneurs, thereby increasing sales of reading glasses and creating a greater number of sustainable jobs, without expending additional resources to hire full-time, salaried staff. Based on the success of this model, Scojo will empower its partners to implement similar techniques and deepen the impact of existing programs. As Scojo expands, we must maintain a higher inventory of products and microfranchise kits, thus exposing ourselves to greater financial risk. As such, Scojo is carefully moving its products from a consignment to a cash-and-carry model, allowing Vision Entrepreneurs to choose from a variety of payment plans and freeing up capital to allow Scojo to expand on a cash-positive basis. In addition to developing new sales and marketing techniques, Scojo will seek out more distribution partnerships with organizations like PSI that have the ability carry out the entire distribution process with limited direct assistance from Scojo. In this partnership model, Scojo Foundation supplies the organization with high-quality, affordable eye care products, which translates into additional revenue for Scojo Foundation and continues to further our mission. After three years, as Scojo’s brand recognition and reputation become increasingly respected, we will consider leveraging our infrastructure to distribute additional health products to rural consumers, such as nutritional supplements, sanitary napkins, and mosquito bed nets.
Stage of the initiative:
1
Expansion plan:
Scojo currently operates in nine countries (India, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia). Scojo intends to increase its impact by deepening its relationship with current Franchise Partners. Scojo will continue to work with BRAC in Bangladesh to train thousands more of its volunteer community health workers as Vision Entrepreneurs. In Africa, Scojo will leverage its partnership with PSI to distribute reading glasses to virtually all sub-Saharan African countries. In India, Scojo will work with current Franchise Partners such as Hindustan Lever Limited and Byrraju Foundation to expand its reach deeper into India. Scojo also intends to open a product sourcing and programmatic office in China, which will help to lower the cost of goods and therefore increase sustainability as well as bring quality vision products to rural Chinese. In Central America, Scojo will work to turn over a sustainable program to a local company, will expand its own corporate franchise in El Salvador, and start a new corporate franchise in Mexico. We project that within the next three years we will have sold 1 million pairs of reading glasses since inception, referred over 1 million visually-impaired people for more advanced eye care to partner eye clinics, and will be supporting more than 7,650 active Scojo Vision Entrepreneurs At headquarters, Scojo plans to hire three additional staff members to support programmatic growth and enhance reporting mechanisms.
Origin of the Initiative
When Dr. Jordan Kassalow, a practicing New York optometrist and founder of the Global Health Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations, traveled on medical missions to developing countries, he noticed that most eye care programs are not equipped to provide reading glasses due to a focus on more complex eye problems, yet presbyopia affects nearly 40% of the population needing eye care. Although reading glasses have long been available in every drugstore in the developing world, he saw a widespread market failure of affordable reading glasses to the world’s poorest consumers. He knew he could change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by providing them sustainable access to affordable reading glasses. Along with his business partner, Scott Berrie, Dr. Kassalow founded Scojo Foundation in 2001 with this expressed mission.
This Entry is about (Issues)
What are your two main challenges to finance the growth of your initiative
Scojo faces two obstacles to finance its growth. First, Scojo has passed the start-up phase and no longer requires funds to start and pilot its idea; rather, it needs capital to invest in capacity to expand its programs. However, Scojo Foundation has not reached a stage where it can operate solely through commercial lending. As well, Scojo Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 and cannot take private equity investments. Therefore, Scojo is at a mezzanine stage in the financing spectrum and seeks new financing mechanisms to capitalize its growth. Second, Scojo Foundation needs strategic grants for its headquarters operations to hire new staff to enhance financial management, fundraising, and program support. Scojo Foundation needs at least $1.57 million in additional funding for the next three years to adequately capitalize itself for growth within its existing areas of operations. Scojo requires working capital to purchase inventory, hire new staff, develop a licensing mechanism, create marketing campaigns, and strengthen training and technical assistance teams. Scojo is targeting social investors and foundations to partner with us to take us to the next level.
How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate?
As a former finalist, Scojo was invited to apply by Ashoka and Changemakers staff, including Kalpana Kaul and Tyler Ahn. We want to demonstrate our innovative business model for village-based health care franchising, as we believe that transparency leads to adoption, replication, and improvement.
Do you have an annual financial statement?
Scojo Foundation has a financial statement that tracks profit/loss for 2005. Our statement for 2006 is in the draft stage and is currently being reviewed by auditors.
Do you currently have an annual financial statement that tracks profit/loss?
Scojo Foundation has a financial statement that tracks profit/loss for 2005. Our statement for 2006 is in the draft stage and is currently being reviewed by auditors.
Please describe the amount (and/or type) of funding you need to implement your initiative, at year 1 and at year 5.
At Year 1, Scojo Foundation needs $922,778 in grant capital to implement its initiatives. At Year 5, Scojo Foundation needs $1.37M in grant and debt capital to implement its initiatives.
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| annie h said: Any group of people will need vision correction to get the best acuity (ie. image sharpness or accuracy) their eyes can achieve. As a ... about this idea. - 128 days ago read more > |
| Gordon Kaye said: The Scojo Foundation was created out of a greater good, and the bottom line to bring eyeglasses to millions was done through the sales ... about this idea. - 562 days ago read more > |
| Endale Negussie said: The approch to make reading glasses available & affordable through Vision Enterpurners plays an important role. Primerly, it will make ... about this idea. - 944 days ago read more > |
| Anonymous said: As you know Dr. Silver, Physics Prof of Oxford has his adaptive glasses with a focus that can be adjusted as below - website, ... about this idea. - 947 days ago read more > |
| Miriam Stone said: Thanks for your very insightful questions. Let me answer them below: 1) How rapidly has the franchise model been able to expand ... about this idea. - 948 days ago read more > |
| Tyler Ahn said: Scojo's success is well documented by citizen sector and health organizations everywhere. How rapidly has the franchise model been able ... about this idea. - 948 days ago read more > |
 | Scojo Microfranchises Deliver Affordable Reading Glasses to the Rural Poor has been chosen as a finalist in Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care: Solutions People Want. - 950 days ago |
| David Stoker said: Scojo has always been one of my favorite models of successful microfranchising. I have blogged about them a couple times on ... about this idea. - 962 days ago read more > |
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