Beadwork has been embedded in various cultures around the world for centuries

Introduction

Beadwork has been embedded in various cultures around the world for centuries. In Africa, beadwork is a key feature in some cultures, especially in Eastern and Southern Africa. In Kenya, the Maasai, Turkana, and Samburu communities are renowned for their intricate beadwork, which is used not only for aesthetic value but to denote social standing, age, and other social classifications.

Over time, however, the culture has become more mainstream. Beadwork is no longer a preserve of the communities. It has been adopted widely by other communities both in Africa and beyond. To accommodate the diverse tastes of this ever-growing market, beadwork has had to be more innovative. For instance, bracelets in the form of national flags, individual names, and places are prevalent in Kenya. Additionally, beadwork that has no specific cultural affiliation has become more prevalent in Kenya and beyond.

In the West, most beadwork that is marketed as African is mainly sourced from South Africa. Kenyan beadwork is slowly gaining prominence but suffers from insufficient marketing and lack of innovation. The best way of altering this is through a robust online presence, targeted at markets in the West and other African countries. As other African brands have shown, innovation and marketing are enough to project any quality product into the international market and consciousness.

Justification of the project

Beadwork, especially in the case of Laikipia County, is mostly done by women in rural areas. Laikipia North is more remote than other parts of the county, with poor road infrastructure, which impedes access to the market. The result is that high-quality beadwork is sold at suppressed prices to middlemen, who then fetch a premium in more lucrative markets either in Kenya or abroad.

This business arrangement has several adverse effects on the local economy. The local community members, especially women, have been losing a perfect chance to empower themselves and eradicate poverty. Simultaneously, several job creation opportunities continue to be lost as the people look down upon beadwork as a sector that does not pay well.

In instances where the local community engages in beadwork, the value addition is not good enough to support a community. We plan to develop a means through which the local community can produce and market their products without suffering the inconveniences brought about by lack of market knowledge, and poor infrastructure.

Raw materials

The product that will be the flagship of the whole effort will be wristwatches with straps made using beads. The straps will be made using a variety of patterns, especially those associated with the Maasai community. Bracelets, which are popular with Kenyans and other people outside the country, will be modified. They will have a feature to affix a wristwatch and a fastening part.

Figure 1: an example of the beaded watches

The watches will be procured from China and affordable suppliers in Kenya. We will appraise their quality, and identify a set fo reliable and high-quality suppliers. The watches will be varied to ensure that we appeal to a wide pool of potential customers.

Production

We intend to base the whole production in Doldol, Laikipia North. There are several reasons why we have preferred this location. First, most of the individuals adept at making high-quality beadwork are located here. They are members of the local community. This factor will enable us to achieve our goal of community empowerment and job creation. The area also has a constant supply of materials used for beadwork, including the tools. At the same time, the people here have a better appreciation of beadwork, since it is part of their culture, and something they have dealt with for a long time.

We intend to start the project with ten women, who will be drawn from the local community. The business will buy the women all the supplies that they need, from the beadwork to thread, tools, and any other adornment required to make the bracelets. The company will also buy watches and supervise the affixing of the watch to make the finished product.

The company intends to produce around 50 watches a day, for 20 days a month. This will translate to 1000 watches every month. The materials required to achieve this output is tabulated here:

Marketing

Once the product has been completed, it will be shipped to the market, either in Kenya or abroad. The company has already made useful contacts with potential retailers and customers, who will be a useful outlet for our goods. We appreciate the importance of having a direct link with the retailers, or final consumers, and have spent a considerable effort to create strong business relationships. By our estimation, each watch will cost at least KES 600, as the breakdown below shows.

The finished product will retail at around KES 1500. Therefore, we can be able to sell the watches to our suppliers between KES 1000 – 1500, leaving a significant profit for the company. Our experience with the local beadwork industry suggests that we can have an individual output of 10 watches per day. When taken in the context of the whole operation, the math is as follows:

In a normal scenario, an artist can produce as many as 10 straps per day. At the same time, the company will encourage apprenticeship, with the apprentices being expected to produce much less before they learn the ropes. The 5 watches’ daily output is, therefore, an average.

Simplified monthly profit and loss account:

We have established that we will require KEs 220,000 to start production. We expect to have a substantial presence in the market by the second month with our production potential. We plan to pay our artists every week, based on units produced. We, therefore, estimate that we will need to have the first month’s production costs.

We are therefore requesting for the following: