Hong Kong entrepreneur James Chen launches contest to help solve eye problems of world’s poor
Inventors urged to come up with solutions and vie for a prize of US$250,000 in seed money
A Hong Kong philanthropist and entrepreneur has launched a competition to spur inventors into coming up with ways of solving the eye-care problems of the world’s poorest people.
James Chen’s “Clearly” campaign invites technologists, supply chain experts and others from outside the eye-care community to develop solutions and vie for a prize of US$250,000 in seed funding.
Chen, the founder of Adlens, that makes adjustable focus glasses, also runs a charity promoting eye health in the developing world. He hopes the campaign will promote awareness of the 2.5 billion people with poor vision and who have no means of improving their sight.
“The tools are there to solve the problem but through this campaign we hope to find ways to accelerate that process,” Chen said.
Alongside the main competition, the campaign will invite inventors to take part in one-day “Clearly Labs” challenges where they will meet health professionals to help inspire new ideas.
A brainstorming session with leaders in the field will also be held, with the overall campaign goal of achieving universal vision correction by 2040, Chen said.
