The Aravind Eye Hospital in India created a highly successful ‘Aravind Model’, offering eye surgery services to all, being free or very cheap for the poorest and more expensive for the wealthiest.

To prevent malaria in African countries such as Mali and Kenya, humanitarian organisations sometimes reach out to the poorest families by offering bed nets for free or at a low price.

In India (Orissa), Gram Vikas is a social enterprise which helps villagers access clean water for drinking and domestic use by subsidising the cost of the water systems.

Sadly, the arts world still suffers from our society’s economic inequality and seems to not be able to include enough people in accessing our precious culture.

The founder of ‘Equalise’, Romain Malan, is also the director of the World Harmony Orchestra, a musical and social enterprise supporting people from all walks of life through music and enabling people who cannot usually afford musical activities to access concerts and music lessons. Using ‘Equalise’ allows his organisation to reach out to a higher number of people and be a sustainable social business.

More and more universities offer discounts based on families’ income and needs. At Williams College (US), the poorest students pay 20 times less than the normal fees.

Another example regarding the access to education and technology is the sale of softwares which are often offered at lower prices to students.

In Naples, Caffè Sospeso (meaning 'suspended coffee') does not actually use sliding scales but offers something similar in the spirit: someone who experiences good luck orders a ‘sospeso’, paying the price of two coffees but receiving and consuming only one. Someone in need enquiring later whether there was a ‘sospeso’ available would then be served a coffee for free.