New Delhi, Jan 23 (KNN) Ennovent that accelerate innovation and provide sustainable solutions to low income markets in developing Countries. On 19 January 2018 Ennovent’s Impact Investment Holding (IIH) did a follow-on investment with ERC Eye Care to help scale-up its operations and improve impact in North-East India.

Vipul Kumar, Country Director of Ennovent India said, “Ennovent has demonstrated its commitment to serve the North-East India with its follow-on investment in ERC and the on-going North-East Accelerator Program aimed to develop the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem."

He further added “ERC has come a long way in revolutionizing healthcare in the North-East and we are looking at a long-term association with them to continue to create a positive impact in the region.”

According to the WHO Report (2015), in North East India 40% of the people suffers from some problems of vision and nearly 80% of them can be cured with either a simple pair of eyeglasses or a cataract surgery. But they remain out of reach for low-income people as it involves huge cost.

With this vision in their mind Ennovent initiated a mission to provide accessible, affordable and quality eye care to these people.

In June 2013 ERC Eye Care started its innovative “hub and spoke model” and in a short span of 3.5 years, ERC has provided services to more than 1.5 lakh people in Assam and the rest of the North East.

The highlighting features of the organization are low consultation fees of Rs 50 and the training and hiring of local staff for its operations.

ERC has a local team of more than 100 people, with 7 trained and experienced eye surgeons and also has its own internal Skills Development Program where local youth are selected and sent for technical training.

With two hospital hubs in Nagaon and Sivasagar, ERC is launching its third hub in Tezpur at Mission Chari Ali on 25 January 2018. This hub will cater to the needs of Sonitpur district.

Founder and CEO, Dr. Parveez Ubed said, “We started ERC to empower the common person to get the best eye care available at costs that are affordable to him. We are very happy that we have been able to change the lives of so many people in the last 3-4 years. We hope people of Sonitpur will be greatly benefitted by our award-winning service.”

Ennovent, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) - Government of India, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) and other international impact organizations from Mumbai, Switzerland, Singapore and Japan supported Tezpur hub.

This is the first Japanese investment in healthcare in the North East. The entire project has been supported by the World Bank’s Washington DC office as well.

ERC has received several national and international awards and also received recognition from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for its efforts. (KNN/YV)