The Emerge Beads-to-Business Program

The Emerge Beads-to-Business program teaches girls business skills using jewelry as a therapeutic and practical teaching tool. Girls work through a self-paced workbook that tackles concepts such as budgeting, inventory management, product development, marketing, branding, and financing.
 

Jewelry created in the program is sold in Sri Lanka and abroad through avenues that raise awareness about the cause and allow the purchaser to be a part of a young woman’s rehabilitation. 50% of Emerge Global’s jewelry selling price goes directly into the designer’s savings account, which she may access at the age of 18. Out of the remaining 50%, $0.25 per product goes to a “Community Fund” that the girls direct and the rest covers the cost of goods sold, so that Emerge can support the healing of more survivors.
 

Emerge utilizes a self-paced business workbook to accommodate girls from a variety of educational backgrounds. Each week, girls participate in an “Emerge Store” and “Emerge Bank” simulation, where they learn the basics of banking, budgeting, and strategic planning. You can learn more about the Emerge Bank and Store here.

 

Beads-to-Business Workshop Photos

Goals

Through the Emerge Beads-to-Business Program, each girl should be able to:

1) Make and design quality jewelry
2) Manage her finances responsibly
3) Generate and access personal savings
4) Understand how a business works and plan her own
5) Develop and demonstrate leadership skills
6) Express increased confidence and sense of self-worth
7) Set and achieve her own goals
8 ) Identify community needs and act upon them

Curriculum

In order to accommodate girls from a variety of educational backgrounds, Emerge has developed a self-paced business workbook with four stages.

  • Stage 1 - Girls learn about the structure of the program and learn jewelry making techniques. They also learn how to budget and plan ahead through the Emerge Store and Emerge Bank simulations.
  • Stage 3 - Girls design their own jewelry product and learn to incorporate feedback. They learn about logo development and marketing; cost evaluation, hidden costs, and pricing; and work through a variety of business strategy questions. At the conclusion, girls create a poster of a jewelry business to promote their own design.
  • Stage 4 Girls plan their own business unrelated to jewelry design, using the steps developed in Stage 3. They also learn about financing a business.

At the conclusion of the workbook, each participant develops a road map for her life outside the shelter.