Schweizerischer Blinden- Und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv)

What Schweizerischer Blinden- Und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv) does

Schweizerischer Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv), founded in 1911 and headquartered in Bern, is Switzerland's largest self-help organization for blind and visually impaired people, representing approximately 400,000 affected individuals across Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The association is organized into 16 regional sections and operates 6 counseling centers that provide advice, training, leisure activities, financial contributions, and media products to members and non-members. Sbv combines member services, advocacy, and a technology-development function: its in-house Technology & Innovation department builds and maintains four proprietary apps — MyWay Pro (navigation with acoustic and sensory guidance), E-Kiosk (accessible newsstand for 70+ publications in three national languages), Intros ÖV-Radar (BLE-based public transport assistance co-developed with Trapeze), and Recunia (computer-vision banknote recognition). Intros has been deployed with Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen in Switzerland and Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Stadtwerke Kiel, and Stadtwerke Saarbrücken in Germany. Sbv is ZEWO-certified and generates revenue through membership fees (CHF 25–50/year by section), donations and bequests, E-Kiosk subscriptions (CHF 160/year), MyWay Pro micro-subscriptions (CHF 1/month to CHF 30 lifetime), and digital accessibility consulting, workshops, and product testing sold to businesses and public organizations. The organization co-submitted the Inklusions-Initiative with Inclusion Handicap and AGILE.CH in September 2024 to enshrine disability equality in the Swiss constitution.

Name

Schweizerischer Blinden- Und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv)

Legal name

Schweizerischer Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband sbv

Website

https://sbv-fsa.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1911

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Schweizerischer Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv) is Switzerland's largest self-help organization for blind and visually impaired people, representing around 400,000 individuals through 16 regional sections, 6 counseling centers, and four proprietary accessibility apps.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Services and Assistive Technology

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

Keywords

• Assistive technology
• Accessibility consulting
• Membership services
• Donation-funded nonprofit
• Blind and visually impaired support

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Individuals who are blind or visually impaired pay annual membership fees ranging from CHF 25 to 50 depending on the section. Fees entitle members to counseling, courses, leisure activities, media products, financial contributions, and discounts.
2. Donations and Direct Aid: sbv raises funds from private donors, major donors, and through bequests/legacies. Donations are used to fund direct aid programs for blind and visually impaired people in Switzerland, including the 365 sponsorship program (CHF 365/year for blind literacy courses, job coaching, or Low Vision counseling). ZEWO-certified.
3. Digital Accessibility Professional Services: The T&I department sells consulting, workshops, and product testing services to businesses and public organizations for improving digital accessibility of websites and apps.
4. E-Kiosk Subscription: Annual subscription to the E-Kiosk digital newsstand costs CHF 160 including VAT. sbv members receive a 20% discount. The service provides access to over 70 newspapers and magazines in three national languages.
5. MyWay Pro App Purchases: MyWay Pro navigation app is available via subscription (1 month or 1 year) or lifetime purchase. First month is free for testing. Monthly: 1 CHF; Annual: 10 CHF; Lifetime: 30 CHF.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

sbv is Switzerland's largest self-help organization for blind and visually impaired people, representing approximately 400,000 affected individuals through 16 regional sections and 6 counseling centers. It provides direct member services (counseling, training, leisure, financial aid), a portfolio of proprietary assistive mobile applications (MyWay Pro navigation, E-Kiosk digital newsstand, Intros public transport assistance, Recunia banknote recognition), and professional digital accessibility consulting and product testing services to businesses and public organizations.

Product overview

The Schweizerischer Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv) operates primarily as a service organization for blind and visually impaired people in Switzerland, with its Technology & Innovation department developing specialized apps. The product portfolio includes four core applications: MyWay Pro (navigation/orientation), E-Kiosk (digital newspaper access), Intros – ÖV Radar (public transport assistance), and Recunia (banknote recognition). Additionally, sbv provides consulting services for digital accessibility, including workshops and product testing for websites and apps. The apps are designed to work together as a suite supporting independent living, with MyWay Pro enabling outdoor navigation, E-Kiosk providing access to media, Intros facilitating public transport use, and Recunia assisting with daily financial tasks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MyWay Pro: Orientation and navigation app optimized for blind and visually impaired persons, providing acoustic and sensory navigation support.
• E-Kiosk
• Intros ÖV-Radar
• Recunia

Products and services

• MyWay Pro Orientation and navigation app optimized for blind and visually impaired users, providing acoustic and sensory navigation support. Supports route creation, automatic route recording, address navigation, Points of Interest, and beacon-based audio descriptions on hiking trails, with OSM, GPX, and PLIST route format support and VoiceOver integration.
• E-Kiosk Accessible digital newsstand providing barrier-free access to over 70 newspapers and magazines in three national languages (German, French, Italian). Compatible with JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack screen readers, available on PC, smartphone, and tablet.
• Intros – ÖV Radar Public transport mobility assistance app co-developed with Trapeze, using Bluetooth Low Energy vehicle modules to help blind and visually impaired users identify approaching buses and trams, trigger door-finding signals, send boarding/alighting requests to drivers, and receive live stop announcements. Deployed with BVG Berlin, vbsh Schaffhausen, Stadtwerke Kiel, and Stadtwerke Saarbrücken.
• Recunia Swiss banknote recognition app that uses real-time computer vision to identify CHF banknotes and announces their value through audio and/or vibration feedback, supporting both front and back recognition of notes.
• Digital Accessibility Consulting and Product Testing Professional services provided by sbv's Technology & Innovation department, including accessibility consulting for specialists, specialized workshops for websites and mobile apps, and product testing with real blind and visually impaired end users.
• sbv Membership Program Annual membership program for blind and visually impaired individuals providing counseling, training courses, leisure activities, media products, financial contributions, and discounts across sbv's 16 regional sections and 6 counseling centers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 70 newspapers and magazines accessible in three languages via E-Kiosk
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TrapezecoreTechnology or IntegrationTrapeze is a public transport technology company that co-developed the Intros mobility assistance system with sbv. Trapeze provides the vehicle-side BLE module that communicates with the sbv-developed Intros app, enabling blind passengers to identify vehicles, trigger door-finding signals, and send boarding requests. The partnership was established after pilot projects and has resulted in deployments in Germany (Berlin BVG, Kiel, Saarbrücken) and Switzerland (Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen).
• RaiseNowminorOthersRaiseNow AG provides sbv's online donation payment solution. RaiseNow is PCI-DSS certified and complies with Swiss data protection standards, ensuring secure online transactions for donors.
• Inclusion HandicapcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnersbv is a member of Inclusion Handicap, a Swiss umbrella organization representing people with disabilities. As part of this coalition, sbv co-submitted the 'Inklusions-Initiative' (Inclusion Initiative) on September 5, 2024, calling for the legal and actual equality of people with disabilities to be enshrined in the Swiss constitution.
• AGILE.CHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partnersbv is a member of AGILE.CH, another Swiss umbrella organization for people with disabilities. Together with Inclusion Handicap and AGILE.CH, sbv co-submitted the Inklusions-Initiative in 2024, representing the joint advocacy position of Switzerland's disability community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind): Canada's primary blindness charity, delivering rehabilitation, advocacy, and accessible products. Similar non-profit self-help model and geographic footprint (national, multilingual) to sbv, with overlapping service lines including assistive technology.
• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB): UK's largest charity for blind and partially sighted people, providing advice, products, publications, and campaigning. Closest structural analog to sbv in a different national market, with comparable membership model and broad service mission.
• American Foundation for the Blind (AFB): US national blindness organization focused on advocacy, research, and accessible products. Directly comparable in mission (removing barriers for blind Americans) and in publishing/app portfolio, though operating at a much larger scale.

Others

• Inclusion Handicap: Swiss umbrella organization of disability associations, of which sbv is a member. Co-advocacy partner rather than competitor, but operates in the same Swiss disability-policy space and channels public funding to its member organizations.

Broad incumbents

• HumanWare: Established Canadian assistive technology vendor producing Braille displays, magnifiers, and GPS devices for blind and low-vision users. Broader incumbent in the same assistive-tech category as sbv's app portfolio, with deeper product breadth but less community/advocacy integration.

Regional players

• Pro Infirmis: Swiss disability organization serving people with disabilities more broadly (not vision-specific). Domestic Swiss peer that competes for disability-donor mindshare and federal funding, while sharing the advocacy coalitions and member-based non-profit structure.
• DBSV (Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband): German national association of the blind and visually impaired. Operates as the direct German counterpart to sbv, with overlapping self-help structure and advocacy mandate, but serving a different geography despite sharing language and Intros deployment partnerships.

Emerging players

• OrCam Technologies: Israeli AI wearables company offering MyEye and other assistive devices for blind and visually impaired users. Competes in the same end-user problem space (object/face/text reading) that Recunia and E-Kiosk address, though via hardware rather than software.
• Be My Eyes: Global app connecting blind users with sighted volunteers and AI for visual assistance. Overlaps with sbv's accessibility mission on the user side and competes for the same app-store shelf and donor/grant attention, though focuses on remote human+AI assistance rather than self-contained apps.
• Microsoft Seeing AI: Microsoft's free iOS app delivering scene, text, and currency recognition for blind users. Direct functional competitor to Recunia and parts of MyWay Pro, with platform-level distribution advantages that threaten sbv's specialized app monetization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrJs-Wvb3pk0yJHV-ziEKhg
• Facebookfacebook.com/sbv.fsa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10780783
• Instagraminstagram.com/sbv.fsa

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Schweizerischer Blinden- Und Sehbehindertenverband (sbv)