method to ensure the program can be scaled-up to a national level
(an estimated 7.5 million people), but Chen cannot do this alone.
Support is vital to ensure its success.
“Adaptive Eyewear is looking to raise US$10 million to help 1.2
million people correct their vision through its Vision for a Nation
program,” says Chen.
“In an increasingly interconnected world, the inability to
improve the opportunities available to the underprivileged
masses in the developing world, as well as the developed world,
threatens the welfare of all.” He believes that Vision for a Nation
is a starting point. “The possibility exists that our paradigmshifting vision correction technology can, like mobile telephone
technology, allow people in underdeveloped countries to quickly
reap the benefits of this innovation. In our case, we believe mass
vision correction will improve national productivity, educational
outcomes and quality of life.”
But Chen knows that it’s not enough to merely champion a
good cause, no matter how ‘worthy.’ Adlens is based on sound and
synergistic business principles, and as such, it redefines traditional
notions of ‘charity.’
“The research and development for commercially viable
eyewear in developed world markets, translates to and informs the
development of eyewear for developing world markets,” he sums
up neatly. “An added benefit, as we try to design key components
compatible to both markets, is that the greater the volume of product
sold in the developed world, the lower the unit cost will be for the
developing world.”
It’s a case of one hand washing the other, and the real beauty of it
is the sustainability. “In the long-term, having a commercially viable
operation in the developed world will help to sustain our success
in the developing world, thus our goal is to become a true social
enterprise, and to do good by doing well.” says Chen.
In a nutshell, the business model is to get the highest price
possible for the product in the developed world, so that Adlens can
bring as much benefit as possible to the developing world. “I think
of the company as an aircraft with three engines – to give us the
best possible chance of staying airborne.”
“Firstly, in the US, we’re aiming for the upper-end of the
market for off-the-shelf reading glasses. Secondly, in Japan, we’re
working with a design guru and using the message of technological
innovation to see if we can go further upmarket. Thirdly, in
Rwanda, our goal is to create an adult population with the best
corrected vision of any country in the world within three to five
years!” It’s an ambitious forecast. “If there are any two challenges
of this project, it’s about distribution and pricing,” Chen ponders.
“Rwanda is really intended as a pilot project, on which further
programs can be built.”
And as for the challenges facing the planet as a whole? Chen
believes the single biggest problem is that the full potential of people,
who could possibly solve the planet’s challenges, goes unharnessed.
For the time being, it’s impossible to measure the success of such
lofty ideals, but commercial success is easily gauged. “Naturally,
in the developed world we focus on commercial success and
profitability. In Rwanda we will look at improvements in productivity
and educational outcomes.”
But for Chen, there’s no more immediate measure of success
than the smile of people seeing clearly for the first time, or for the
Vision is irreducibly linked to
national productivity, education,
first time in a long time.
“Ultimately, I’d like
to bring the cost down
enough to be able to sell
the glasses sustainably
in the developing
world, in other words,
affordably without
subsidy – in order to
benefit the maximum
number of people. I have no intention of selling them at a loss.”
Philanthropy is inherent in the Chen family businesses. The Chen
Yet-set Family Foundation has a strategic focus on early childhood
literacy, library development and education enhancement. It awards
grants to organisations for innovative, cost effective and high impact
projects in mainland China, Hong Kong and West Africa. Wahum
manufactures consumer products, building materials and cardboard
packaging. Both businesses are diverse in what they do, yet they
have a common philanthropic thread. With the capital from Wahum,
founded by Chen’s grandfather, Chen’s father founded the Chen
Yet-set Family Foundation.
“In fact, the Foundation started out by helping the village in
China where my grandfather originally came from. We’ve supported
many causes over the years and discovered that a portfolio approach
isn’t right for family philanthropy. To make an impact you have to
focus, to only support a few causes. Today our other main interest
is in children’s literacy.
“We’re supporting school libraries in China and encouraging
parents to read aloud to their children in Hong Kong, which is a
major factor in future academic achievement. But again, the aim is
for these initiatives to become self-supporting.”
Crucially, Chen believes that family philanthropy should be
viewed as an investment, not as a tax. “The most successful
philanthropic families in the world are those who give time as well
as money.
“I’d also like to stress that making money and doing good aren’t
antithetical. The best long-term insurance for a business is to have
a strong, stable society around it,” he concludes.
quality of life
and the economy
of any country.
James Chen (YPO Hong Kong). Tel. +44 (0)1865 980 425 /
www.adaptive-eyewear.org
connect / france International Conference on Innovation, Technology and Knowledge Economy: www.waset.org/conferences/2011/france/icitke
32 \ Real Leaders