Consider the value created by the Aravind Eye Care System, a collection of hospitals and clinics founded in 1976 by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, or “Dr. V” as he was known to all, a retired ophthalmologist living in the south Indian city of Madurai.
Aravind’s product is the restoration of sight. Its customers are the blind, many of them desperately poor. The challenge that faced Dr. V was to reduce the cost of a procedure and increase its availability.