INSTITUT NATIONAL DES JEUNES AVEUGLES

Name

INSTITUT NATIONAL DES JEUNES AVEUGLES

Legal name

Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles

Website

https://inja.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1784

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialized Education for Visual Impairment

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities (62321), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193)

akta.pro primary industry

Vision Assistive Technology (Screen Readers, Braille, Magnification) (EDAKAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assistive Technology (AT) & Accessible Learning Tools (EDALAGAB), Deaf/Hard of Hearing & Vision Services (Audiology, Interpreting, Orientation & Mobility) (EDAJAKAI), Special Education & Accessibility-Optimized Digital Content (EDAGAEAJ), Academic Accommodations & Access Planning (ADA/504) (EDALAGAA)

Keywords

• Specialized education services
• Visual impairment rehabilitation
• Braille transcription services
• Adaptive learning materials
• Vocational training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris, Îledefrance

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Government Grants: As a public national establishment governed by decree 74-355 of April 26, 1974, INJA operates primarily through government funding from the French Ministry of Education and other public bodies.
2. Space Rental Services: The institute rents out facilities including the Salle André Marchal (200-capacity concert hall), meeting rooms, gymnasium, and the sensory garden Helen Keller for events, filming, concerts, and conferences. Fees range from 85€ to 6,000€ depending on space and duration.
3. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The institute receives donations from individuals and corporate sponsors. Donations qualify for 66% tax reduction up to 20% of taxable income, with excess carryable for 5 years. The institute also accepts bequests, donations, corporate patronage, and life insurance contributions.
4. Transcription Services: External transcription services are provided for a fee (requires quote), including Braille adaptation, large print, and relief drawings. Pricing ranges from 0.65€ per page for text to 6€ per page for A3 relief drawings.
5. Professional Training: Short professional training courses such as the Perkins machine repair training (5 days, 35 hours) priced at 1,500€ per person, limited to 6 participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

INJA is France's national reference establishment for visual impairment, providing specialized education, rehabilitation, and social/professional integration services for blind and visually impaired young people. The institute operates a Transcription Department producing Braille, large print, and relief drawings; the BDEA online catalog with over 90,000 adapted bibliographic references; vocational training programs (including piano tuning diploma and Perkins machine repair training); the Campus Louis Braille research and innovation hub; venue rental services; and family and school-inclusion outreach programs.

Product overview

The INJA Louis Braille is a public national institution providing education, training, and social/professional inclusion for blind and visually impaired young people. Its offering is organized across several service lines: (1) Specialized schooling and educational support with a pluridisciplinary team of 200+ professionals; (2) A Transcription Department producing Braille, large print, digital files, and raised-relief drawings for adapted pedagogy; (3) Vocational training programs including a CAP diploma for piano tuners and a 5-day Perkins machine repair course; (4) A media/podcast division producing audio content on visual impairment topics; (5) The BDEA (Banque de Données de l'Edition Adaptée) — a collective catalogue of over 90,000 adapted bibliographic records accessible online, covering Braille, audio recordings, large print, and relief formats; and (6) The Campus Louis Braille, a research and innovation hub inaugurated December 2024. The institution also offers venue rental (Salle André Marchal, sensory garden, rehearsal studios) and operates admission, follow-up (service de suite), and family support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BDEA - Banque de Données de l'Edition Adaptée: A service that catalogs and disseminates bibliographic references of adapted works available for visually impaired audiences. Contains over 90,000 searchable records.
• Campus Louis Braille

Products and services

• Education and Specialized Schooling Services
• Transcription and Adapted Materials Services
• BDEA - Banque de Données de l'Edition Adaptée Collective online catalog of over 90,000 adapted bibliographic references covering Braille, audio recordings, large print, and tactile formats, with free public consultation for professionals and the general public.
• CAP Accordeur de Piano (Piano Tuner Diploma) Two-year vocational diploma program in piano tuning open to visually impaired students with MDPH notification, covering tuning, piano technology, acoustics, and repair, with a possible preparatory year.
• Perkins Machine Repair Training Five-day, 35-hour hands-on training course on Perkins braille machine maintenance, disassembly, diagnosis, and repair, limited to 6 participants per session at €1,500 per person.
• Venue and Space Rental Rental of event spaces including the 200-seat Salle André Marchal concert hall, the Helen Keller sensory garden, rehearsal studios, the cafeteria, meeting rooms, and gymnasium for events, filming, concerts, and conferences (ranging from €85 half-day to €6,000 for long-form filming).
• Audio Description Portal (Portail de l'Audiodescription) Centralized portal providing online access to more than 2,500 audio-described films after theatrical release, with some titles available free through partner broadcasters (Arte.tv, france.tv, CANAL+, LaCinetek, Orange VOD).
• Campus Louis Braille A research, innovation, and training campus organized around three strategic axes: fundamental research, technological innovation, and professional insertion, forming a collaborative ecosystem of start-ups, researchers, students, and people concerned by visual impairment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90,000 adapted publications accessible through the BDEA database
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Campus Louis Braille ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2024The Campus Louis Braille was inaugurated on December 3, 2024 as a collaborative project bringing together four founding organizations: Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles (INJA – Louis Braille), Association Valentin Haüy, Association Voir Ensemble, and apiDV (Accompagner, Promouvoir, Intégrer les Déficients Visuels). The campus is dedicated to fundamental research, technological innovation, and professional training in visual impairment, aiming to be a center of excellence in France and Europe.
• UNADEV (Union Nationale des Aveugles et Déficients Visuels)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNADEV, an association recognized for assistance and charity since 1929, is committed to inclusion and autonomy of blind and visually impaired people through a network of regional centers offering social support, prevention, cultural and sports activities, and research support. Partner in the 'Optique Commune' project with 100% Handinamique, UniLaSalle, Apidv, and INJA Louis Braille.
• APIDV (Accompagner, Promouvoir, Intégrer les Déficients Visuels)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1949 and recognized as being of public utility since 1959, APIDV accompanies visually impaired people in achieving social autonomy. The association develops actions and services to facilitate access to culture, education, employment, leisure, and technology for people with visual impairments.
• Association Voir EnsemblecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1927, Voir Ensemble is a Christian movement of blind and visually impaired people. It promotes the intellectual, social, moral, cultural, and material well-being of visually impaired people, supporting their development through education, work, leisure, and sports.
• Association Valentin HaüycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1889, Association Valentin Haüy is a historical actor in supporting visually impaired people in France, deploying numerous services and actions to defend the rights of visually impaired people, ensure their training and access to employment, restore and develop their autonomy, promote access to written materials, and offer cultural, sports, and leisure activities.
• Fédération des Aveugles et Amblyopes de FrancemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1917, the Federation groups together activists, users, professionals, and volunteers committed to better social and economic inclusion of visually impaired people. Its objective is to enable full citizenship for blind and visually impaired people in France and abroad.
• European Commission (ERASMUS+)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerINJA has received ERASMUS+ accreditation from the European Commission, opening new international perspectives for the institute and enabling participation in European exchange and mobility programs for students and staff.
• CanonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCanon participates in joint events with INJA such as the European Heritage Days, contributing to the institute's accessibility and inclusion initiatives.
• Musée CoupvrayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe museum in Coupvray (birthplace of Louis Braille) collaborates with INJA on heritage events including European Heritage Days and celebrations of Braille writing anniversaries.
• Université Paris 1 Panthéon SorbonneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe university partners with INJA on academic and research initiatives, particularly related to accessibility and heritage, participating in joint events and programs.
• Ecole des Chiens Guides de ParisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe school for guide dogs in Paris collaborates with INJA on accessibility initiatives and participates in joint events to promote inclusion and independence for visually impaired people.
• BnF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Library of France works with INJA on the 'Révolution Braille' event celebrating the 200th anniversary of Braille writing, hosting the opening colloquium on November 13, 2025.
• 100% HandinamiqueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Optique Commune' project with UNADEV, UniLaSalle, APIDV, and INJA Louis Braille, working to pool resources for supporting young people with visual impairments.
• UniLaSalleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the 'Optique Commune' project focused on pooling resources and expertise for supporting young people with visual impairments.
• Association des Donneurs de VoixminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAudio book association whose resources are federated through the BDEA database, expanding access to audio content for visually impaired readers.
• Association Valentin Haüy (Eole Server)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Eole server of Association Valentin Haüy provides digital resources federated through the BDEA database catalog.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Perkins School for the Blind: Watertown, MA-based private school providing specialized education and rehabilitation for blind and visually impaired children. Direct institutional peer to INJA — same core mission of full-time specialized schooling, with comparable scale and program mix.
• Association Valentin Haüy: Founded in 1889 in France, AVH supports visually impaired people across training, employment, culture, and adapted publishing — directly comparable to INJA and a co-founding partner of Campus Louis Braille.
• American Printing House for the Blind (APH): Louisville, KY-based nonprofit producing accessible educational materials, textbooks, and assistive tools for visually impaired learners across the U.S. Highly comparable to INJA's Transcription Department and BDEA mission — both serve as national producers of adapted learning content.

Emerging players

• Guide Dogs for the Blind: U.S. nonprofit providing guide dogs and mobility training to people with visual impairments. Partial overlap with INJA's mobility and autonomy training mission, focused specifically on guide-dog services.

Broad incumbents

• American Foundation for the Blind (AFB): U.S. national nonprofit focused on advocacy, research, and resource development for the blind community. Broader, advocacy-and-policy-oriented peer to INJA's specialized service delivery model.

Regional players

• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB): UK's leading charity for blind and partially sighted people, providing education support, accessible publishing, and advocacy. Comparable mission and scope to INJA, operating in a different national jurisdiction.
• LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired: San Francisco-based nonprofit serving blind and low-vision clients with training, education, and employment services. Comparable specialized-services model focused on autonomy and inclusion in a U.S. metro context.
• CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind): Canada's national nonprofit for the blind, delivering rehabilitation, education, and accessible-format library services. Closely comparable to INJA's combined education-and-resource model in a different geography.
• Braille Institute of America: Los Angeles-based nonprofit offering free classes, counseling, and accessible library services to people with vision loss. Comparable mission around education, autonomy training, and adapted content distribution.

Others

• European Blind Union (EBU): Brussels-based umbrella NGO representing blind and partially sighted people across Europe. Adjacent, ecosystem-level peer — INJA engages with EBU indirectly via its ERASMUS+ accreditation and Campus Louis Braille's European ambitions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCM7zMdknhJnn3eaaoRN9lZg
• Facebookfacebook.com/institutnationaldesjeunesaveugles
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-national-des-jeunes-aveugles
• Instagraminstagram.com/inja_louisbraille

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about INSTITUT NATIONAL DES JEUNES AVEUGLES