facing the world
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
facing the world firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- facing the world
- Legal name
- Facing the World
- Website
- https://facingtheworld.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
facing the world industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Craniofacial Surgery and Medical Training Services
- NAICS
- Offices of Physicians (6211), Offices of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners (621399)
- SIC
- Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cleft Lip/Palate & Craniofacial Surgery (HLABAEAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ENT) (HLAKAMAG)
Keywords
Where facing the world is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
facing the world business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Fundraising: Facing the World operates as a charitable organization funded entirely through donations from individuals, corporations, and institutional donors. The charity runs fundraising campaigns, gala events, and accepts donations through multiple platforms including CAF Online, JustGiving, and direct bank transfers.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
facing the world product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Facing the World is a UK-registered medical charity that delivers free craniofacial surgery to children born with severe facial disfigurements in Vietnam, primarily through 4-6 annual in-country surgical missions conducted jointly by UK consultants and Vietnamese medical teams. It complements direct surgical care with an international fellowship training program (187+ fellowships awarded to date), telemedicine-enabled year-round collaboration backed by £2.4 million in donated equipment, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence, including Southeast Asia's first craniofacial center at 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi.
Product overview
Facing The World is a UK-registered medical charity (founded 2002, Charity No. 1092772) dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with severe facial disfigurements in Vietnam through surgery, advanced training, and sustainable healthcare. The organization operates as a unified charitable program rather than a commercial product portfolio, consisting of five interconnected services: In-Country Surgical Missions (delivering complex craniofacial surgeries 4-6 times annually), an International Fellowship Program (awarding over 187 fellowships to Vietnamese medics in the UK, Canada, and USA), Telemedicine Services (using £2.4 million in donated equipment for year-round remote collaboration), Centers of Excellence (including Southeast Asia's first craniofacial center established in 2018), and Medical Equipment Donations. The model is designed for scalability, with a goal to reach 50,000 patients over the next five years through these integrated services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- In-Country Surgical Missions Medical missions delivering complex craniofacial surgeries in Vietnam, conducted 4-6 times annually, with UK-based consultants operating jointly with local Vietnamese medical teams at partner hospitals. Provided free of charge to patients.
- International Fellowship Program Training program awarding international fellowships to Vietnamese medics, with over 187 fellowships awarded to date and plans to train 200 more in the next five years, enabling doctors to train at leading centers in the UK, Canada, and USA.
- Telemedicine Services Remote medical consultation and collaboration enabled by £2.4 million in donated equipment, allowing year-round expert collaboration between UK volunteers and Vietnamese medical teams.
- Centers of Excellence Established Southeast Asia's first craniofacial center at 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi in 2018, serving as a blueprint for replication of multidisciplinary craniofacial surgical capabilities.
- Medical Equipment Donations Donation of medical equipment worth £2.4 million to enable year-round expert collaboration and support local surgical capabilities in Vietnam.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50,000 patients to be transformed over five years
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use facing the world
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
facing the world technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
facing the world partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and supportive.
- EKFoundationminorCorporate sponsor supporting FTW's charitable mission.
- Royal College of Surgeons of EnglandcoreAccredited three Vietnamese hospitals (Hong Ngoc, Viet-Duc, 108 Military) as surgical training centers. Enables younger Vietnamese doctors to train under International Surgical Training Programme for 1-2 years in UK.
- Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation (VGPC)minorPromoter of Formula 1 VinFast Vietnam Grand Prix 2020. MOU signed to support FTW's work with children with facial differences, using F1 platform to raise awareness and funds.
- World Telehealth Initiative (WTI)core3-year Memorandum of Understanding signed. WTI connects volunteer medical expertise to underserved communities via state-of-the-art technology. Integral to establishment of centers of expertise in Vietnam.
- Vietnam AirlinescorePartnership to support FTW's medical experts to implement volunteer programs in Vietnam and facilitate international educational exchange for doctors. Vietnam Airlines provides transportation support for medical teams and equipment.
- Viet-Duc University HospitalcorePartner hospital receiving Royal College of Surgeons of England accreditation for surgical training. Specializes in craniofacial, maxillofacial, and pediatric surgery. Part of Queen's Birthday MOU ceremony.
- Hong Ngoc General HospitalcorePartner hospital receiving Royal College of Surgeons of England accreditation. Hosts ENT Masterclass and other medical conferences. Part of MOU with UK partners.
- 108 Military Central HospitalcoreVietnam's largest and most modern medical facility; home to Southeast Asia's first Center for Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery, inaugurated by HRH the Duke of York. Five-year cooperation program signed November 2024 for surgeries for children with facial deformities.
- Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (SickKids)coreInternational fellowship program sending Vietnamese doctors to Canada for advanced training. First two Vietnamese doctors visited in 2018; 10 more identified for 2019. First Canadian institution to partner with FTW.
- Direct ReliefsupportiveUS charity partnering with FTW and Vietnam Red Cross to expand relief network and help humanitarian organizations access difficult areas in Vietnam.
- Vietnam Red CrosssupportiveMOU signing in November 2017 to expand relief network and help international humanitarian organizations access difficult areas in Vietnam.
- Emirates Airline FoundationsupportiveProvided air travel support for medical teams flying from Vietnam to Canada and other destinations for fellowship programs.
- Green RockminorCorporate sponsor listed on FTW's charitable network page.
- Da Nang General HospitalcorePartner hospital for surgical missions and 3D printing implant program. Successfully collaborated on customized titanium cranioplasty implants published in World Neurosurgery Journal.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
facing the world competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Smile Train: US-based nonprofit focused on cleft lip and palate surgery in 90+ countries with a sustainable training and partnership model. Closest direct peer given shared focus on facial reconstructive surgery, training-the-trainers methodology, and donation-funded international missions.
- Operation Smile: International medical charity providing free cleft lip/palate and craniofacial surgeries in low- and middle-income countries. Overlaps directly with FTW on surgical missions, training of local medical teams, and volunteer-driven delivery model.
- ReSurge International: US nonprofit providing reconstructive surgery and training in 13 countries, with explicit focus on building local surgical capacity. Closely comparable Train-the-Trainers approach and concentration on facial reconstruction for children in resource-limited settings.
- Global Smile Foundation: Nonprofit providing cleft and craniofacial care in Latin America and the Middle East with a similar volunteer-surgeon mission model. Comparable patient profile (children with facial deformities) and training-of-local-teams philosophy.
Broad incumbents
- Mercy Ships: Global hospital-ship charity delivering free surgery and training in sub-Saharan Africa. Overlaps with FTW on surgical mission delivery and capacity-building, but operates at much larger scale and across more specialties.
- Project HOPE: Large global health nonprofit with programs in over 100 countries including Vietnam. Tangentially comparable as an international health training-and-treatment NGO with Vietnamese government partnerships.
- CURE International: Christian pediatric surgical charity operating hospitals and programs in low- and middle-income countries with a focus on treatable disabilities. Comparable as a faith-motivated pediatric surgery provider with training components.
Others
- World Telehealth Initiative: Nonprofit connecting volunteer medical expertise to underserved communities via telehealth. Existing FTW partner with directly overlapping mission of enabling year-round expert collaboration into low-resource hospitals.
- Direct Relief: US humanitarian medical aid organization that is an existing FTW partner. Overlaps as a fellow medical-aid nonprofit with established Vietnamese hospital relationships and a focus on equipment donation to underserved regions.
Emerging players
- Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque: French charity funding pediatric cardiac surgeries in developing countries via volunteer medical teams. Comparable as a small, mission-based medical charity with a focus on children and strong European donor base, though focused on cardiac rather than craniofacial care.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
facing the world social profiles
Digital presencefacing the world financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
facing the world leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
facing the world funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
facing the world M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about facing the world
What does facing the world do?
Facing the World is a UK-registered medical charity that delivers free craniofacial surgery to children born with severe facial disfigurements in Vietnam, primarily through 4-6 annual in-country surgical missions conducted jointly by UK consultants and Vietnamese medical teams. It complements direct surgical care with an international fellowship training program (187+ fellowships awarded to date), telemedicine-enabled year-round collaboration backed by £2.4 million in donated equipment, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence, including Southeast Asia's first craniofacial center at 108 Military Central Hospital in Hanoi.
Is facing the world a public or private company?
facing the world is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was facing the world founded?
facing the world was founded in 2002.
Where is facing the world based?
facing the world is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does facing the world make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Fundraising.
Who are facing the world's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Smile Train, Operation Smile, ReSurge International and Global Smile Foundation. Broad incumbents are Mercy Ships, Project HOPE and CURE International. Others are World Telehealth Initiative and Direct Relief. Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque is listed as an emerging player.
Does facing the world have an API?
No public API is recorded for facing the world.
What industry is facing the world in?
facing the world's product category is Craniofacial Surgery and Medical Training Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLABAEAG, Cleft Lip/Palate & Craniofacial Surgery, with a secondary code of HLAKAMAG, Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ENT). Its NAICS code is 6211 and its SIC code is 8090.