In 2015 Essilor’s 2.5 New Vision Generation division launched its Vision Ambassador program: an inclusive business model that seeks to provide locally affordable vision care to underserved populations. A new video shows how this program is being adapted to cater for communities in rural India where there is drastic shortage of eye care professionals.
The Vision Ambassador program is just one example of how Essilor’s 2.5 New Vision Generation inclusive business division is both improving access to affordable eye care in the many regions of the world where optical outlets simply don’t exist, while helping to improve livelihoods for the people living in those areas.
The concept is inclusive because it empowers local entrepreneurs to supplement their income by becoming Vision Ambassadors. These ‘ambassadors’ receive one day of training to learn the basic skills required to carry out near vision screening and to sell over-the-counter reading glasses and sunglasses. The program was launched in China in 2015 and is today expanding across India and being tested in other developing countries, with over 500 active Vision Ambassadors worldwide as of March 2016.