Founded in 2018 by Jérôme Lapaire, Lapaire aims to provide a simple and accessible solution to those suffering from vision problems in Africa. Over six years, Jérôme Lapaire has gathered the best talents to grow the company in Africa, including Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo. The Lapaire group now has over 300 employees committed to Lapaire's mission: offering stylish eyeglasses to everyone.
Over the next 12 months, the Lapaire group plans to open 80 new Optical shops across Africa, consolidating its local network and creating at least 250 jobs of eye specialists, branch managers, sales representatives, and other support functions.
Lapaire brings together numerous optical experts, including Opticians, Optometrists, and Ophthalmic Clinical Officers (OCOs). Their role is crucial for clients, especially considering that over 60% of people entering a Lapaire Optical Shop have never had their vision checked before.
"The optician's profession is a noble one, a profession that sustains a person and brings a lot of satisfaction. The optician is there to inform, guide, and address clients' concerns about their visual defects because many of our clients do not know how to remedy them," explains Konan Jean Jaurès, Head of Optical Training at Lapaire.
But Lapaire is not "just" composed of eye experts!
"The Lapaire Group relies on the expertise of eye specialists, but it is essential to note that 80% of our staff comes from other professional fields. Often, candidates applying to Lapaire think that our teams are only composed of Opticians and Sales people, and they are quite surprised when we present the diversity of professions existing at Lapaire," says Joséphine Amouroux, Head of Talents G Communications at the Lapaire Group.
The Lapaire Group also includes Marketing and Communications teams that build Lapaire's brand image online and offline, Supply Chain teams ensuring product sourcing, assembly, and logistics in the sub-region, Finance teams ensuring the company's accounting, and HR teams managing workforce growth and development of skills through the use of various digital tools.
Lapaire's development plan translates into numerous upcoming opportunities for young and ambitious talents on the continent, specifically in major cities such as Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Bamako, Lomé, Cotonou, and Kampala, as well as in secondary cities.
"To achieve our growth objectives, we will, of course, rely on internal promotion, which is important at Lapaire, while recruiting new profiles externally to grow our pool of talents beneficial to our development. Joining Lapaire means joining a multicultural and pan-African group where digital is an integral part of working methods and where everyone is driven by the impact of our activity and our ambitions. It is also and above all embracing our vision, which revolves around our 5 HR pillars: considering the customer as a king, acting as an entrepreneur, structuring for development, learning to grow, and actively collaborating," emphasizes Joséphine Amouroux.
Recognizing the significance of diversity and inclusivity, Lapaire emphasizes a recruitment approach grounded in gender equality. This commitment is reflected in the company's achievement of a workforce composition where 49% of all employees at the group level are women, and 32% hold managerial positions. Lapaire is dedicated to fostering a safe and meritocracy-based work environment ensuring women to succeed as well as men, to contribute positively in filling the gender gap.
The Lapaire group initiated its first recruitment campaign during the 2023 fall season through digital platforms, including Linkedin and its Lapaire Group Career page, to attract the attention of young graduates and professionals fond of digital and in search of new career opportunities. The group will continue to promote many job openings on various platforms.
