4Ize Consulting

Changing the lives of over 1 billion people who suffer from vision impairment, with an end-to-end testing and spectacles dispensing system that can be used by local people with no prior vision testing experience.

Why 4Ize?

Refractive Error (RE) is used to describe a range of eyesight deficiencies caused by the shape of the eye incorrectly focussing light onto the retina. Common RE’s include near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia. When uncorrected, RE leads to blurry vision, double vision, headaches, eye strain and blindness. 

Uncorrected Refractive Error (URE) is the second leading cause of avoidable blindness globally, with 90% of cases occurring in the developing world. Predominantly affecting younger people, the damaging social and economic impact is huge, especially in indigenous, remote and developing communities. URE reduces the ability to study and work productively, resulting in economic disadvantage and a consistently widening income gap. Barriers to treatment are often a lack of professionals to effectively run the tests, geographic limitations, and the high costs associated. Currently, the only opportunities in less developed communities only address 0.3% of the global need for glasses, further perpetuating the challenge.

Uncorrected Refractive Error affects over 500 million people globally. 

53% of avoidable vision impairment worldwide is due to lack of access to affordable spectacles
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have over 3 times the level of blindness.
People can’t study or work without glasses, costing over $260billion per year globally.

Watch It In Action

Our Partner

In collaboration with Impact Partner: 4IZE, we’re bringing an affordable and accessible vision to disadvantaged communities.

4IZE’s ground-breaking solution allows an untrained person to test for and dispense prescription spectacles for Uncorrected Refractive Error (URE) in indigenous, rural, and developing communities globally. The 4IZE team has developed an innovative testing wheel, vision testing charts, and low-cost spectacles with pop-in prescription lenses to bring this “vision” to life.

With the support of an app to coordinate all back-end business requirements such as logistics and inventory management, 4Ize plans to hire and train local women as franchisees, combating gender inequality and poverty by providing women with meaningful work and overcoming barriers to economic independence. 

What it Addresses

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3. Good Health and Wellbeing

Targets: 3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.

Goal 5. Gender Equality

Targets: 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life.

Impact Programs

How to Get involved

Connecting young change-makers and technology partners you will be testing social enterprise solutions in real-world contexts at the very early stages. This is an opportunity to deeply understand our community members and work with them to develop a meaningful social impact.

Virtual Impact Program

4 weeks
AUD2250

  • January 2021 | January 4 – 29, 2021

  • February 2021 | February 1 – 26, 2021
  • May 2021 | May 10 – June 4, 2021
  • June 2021 | June 7 – July 2, 2021
  • July 2021 | June 28 – July 23, 2021

Global Impact Program

4 Weeks
AUD4980
  • FIJI | TIMOR-LESTÉ 
  • June 2021 | June 6 – 25 2021
  • July 2021 | June 29 – July 24 2021
  • December 2021 | November 28 – December 22 2021
  • January 2022 | January 3 – 28 2022
  • February 2022 | February 1 – 26 2022

Rural Impact Program

2 Weeks
AUD5690
  • December 2020 | December 7 – 18 2020
  • January 2021 | January 4 – 15 2021 & January 18 – 29 2021
  • February 2021 | February 1 – 12 2021

 

Get Involved

We believe that tackling global issues won’t be achieved by doing what’s always been done before…are you up for the challenge?

Apply now for the internship of a lifetime; book in a call to activate your application and start shaping real impact.