Kenyan eyewear startup Lapaire has secured $3 million in a recent funding round led by impact investment fund Investisseurs & Partenaires, with contributions from AAIC, FINCA Ventures, and Beyond Capital. Lapaire operating in six countries including Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Uganda, aims to address the challenges of vision impairment in Africa. Lapaire offers affordable glasses, priced at approximately $25, bypassing middlemen and directly interacting with manufacturers to control costs. With a unique approach of initially targeting employers, the startup has conducted free eye tests for over three hundred thousand people, and plans to open 300 eye care centers in the next two years.
To support its expansion, Lapaire, founded in 2018, received advisory support for the funding deal from CrossBoundary through USAID's Africa Trade and Investment activity. The company has adapted its business model over time, moving from a business to business sales approach to direct customer engagement. Lapaire's ideal customer earns between $200 and $800 monthly and lacks health insurance, prompting the introduction of a flexible payment plan. The startup, with fifty eight existing eye care centers, aims to open eighty new locations by 2024. The company's innovative approach addresses the scarcity of affordable eyewear and eye care professionals in Africa, making strides in improving vision health across the continent.