Selected for Alternative Finance Accelerator
The Vision Catalyst Fund (VCF) with Tri-Sector Associates has been selected as one of the first three projects for support from the Levoca Outcomes Accelerator to develop its alternative finance programme focused on school eye health in Vietnam.
The Accelerator
We are excited to share we have been selected as one of the first three projects for support from Levoca’s Outcomes Accelerator supported by UBS Optimus Foundation as a funder and governing committee member, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the UK.
Accelerator funding will support our new alternative finance initiative, The School Eye Health Accelerator. The VCF will work in partnership with Tri-Sector Associates and partners to create a Social Impact Guarantee (SIG) to fund a government-driven school eye health programme in Vietnam to improve the quality of and access to eye care services and educational outcomes for children.
We are greatly appreciative of all involved in making this possible, in particular Santen Pharmaceuticals and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with the leadership of Professor Matthew Burton at the International Centre for Eye Health, who provided the seed funding to conduct the feasibility study as well as all the funders and NGOs who lent their expertise for this study.
The Social Impact Guarantee
First developed in Singapore by Tri-Sector, a SIG operates akin to an insurance scheme, with donors paying a premium to a Guarantor. In the event that desired outcomes are not achieved, the Guarantor refunds the initial investment. By pooling risk premiums from successful projects, the Guarantor can fund even more impactful programmes.
With support from the Accelerator, VCF will fund Tri-Sector Associates and delivery partners to pilot the SIG in Vietnam with a focus on school eye health. Taking a systems change approach, The intervention will work to strengthen the rollout of the Vietnamese Government's National School Eye Care guidelines. During this critical phase, we will engage funders, collaborate with delivery partners, and foster government partnerships to ensure sustainable success.
Scaling for global impact
The VCF is building a global fund for vision. This alternative finance initiative is an important step in the journey both in the way we raise capital and deploy it.
Once success has been proven in Vietnam, the VCF aims to swiftly start work to launch SIGs in additional countries identified during our initial feasibility study, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia.
Join the journey
Are you interested in alternative finance and eye health? The VCF is looking for Guarantors and Outcomes Funders. If you are interested in learning more, please get in touch.
Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Hữu Thông and the IAPB from the #VisionFirst! Photo Competition held for World Sight Day 2019.