Diamond manufacturing company Dubai-based Stargems Group which established operations in Botswana in 2022, Stargems Botswana has invested BWP 13 million in its Diamond Polishing Institute in Gaborone.
The major development covers infrastructural updates that now cater to practical Diamond Polishing courses with actual diamonds in the requisite module for students whilst they learn. The training is open to the public (Batswana) free of charge.
“To date, the Institute has trained 328 Batswana in Essentials of Rough Diamond Evaluation and Essentials for Diamond and Diamond Grading and given them internationally recognized certificates. 35 of the graduates are now employed in the company in various departments.
We are proud of the milestones we have achieved in just over one calendar year here in Botswana. Instead of complaining about a shortage of high-impact skills in the diamond sector, we opened Stargems Diamond Training Centre in Botswana now called the Stargems Diamond Polishing Institute.
The name change is because of investments that ensure it can cover diamond polishing modules with real diamonds. This practical part of diamond training is the very crux of value creation in the diamond world. “We consider it a great privilege to provide training to Botswana one of the largest and leading rough diamond producers in the world.
Most citizens have never had a site of a diamond, a national asset that has transformed the nation for decades. Giving opportunities to Batswana to come to train with us at no cost is our way of not just capacitating the diamond industry at large with the availability of skilled resources but also driving public education on this rare resource to the people from whose lands the mineral is sourced,” said Sandeep Kolambekar the Stargems Global Head of Manufacturing.
Kolambekar noted that he looks forward to the positive response towards the training from candidates and the support from the community and all the stakeholders. “We have decided to take the polishing course to the next level by expanding our training facility by adding a practical Diamond polishing section to train the students to polish real diamonds while they learn,” he said.
Over the years Botswana has been one of the largest diamond producers in the world, in 2021, the country’s diamond production amounted to nearly 23 million carats. This represents an increase of some 26 percent from the previous year. “This motivated us to set foot in Botswana and establish operations. We were attracted by the quality of the precious stones and political stability, Botswana has over the years consistently ranked highly on economic and development indicators.”
The Stargems Botswana Unit was set up for sourcing and manufacturing rough diamonds. The company sources from DeBeers, ODC and its subsidiary company. The company expects to process 2000 – 3000 carats of rough diamonds monthly. The Botswana unit carries the iconic Synova DaVinci Diamond Factory which combines three major operations, cutting, bruting, and faceting. It carries out all the essential manufacturing workflows, including the entire rough-to-polish process. “We have high hopes that our presence in Botswana will add impetus to the economy and also curb the unemployment rate by investing in building human capital.
OUR goal is to grow our employment numbers to 500 in the foreseeable future,” Kolambekar said. Stargems Botswana has joined the growing number of international diamond groups that have moved to Botswana.
