STARGEMS GROUP’S BOTSWANA FACTORY, A KEY CONTRIBUTOR TO THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC GROWTH JOURNEY

While Stargems Botswana has been successfully established in Gaborone, primarily to source and manufacture rough diamonds. Stargems Group, however, has a holistic vision behind this. It firmly believes in supporting the community around its establishment. Thus, the company has been creating an ecosystem for all contributors to thrive.

Vishal Shah, Managing Director of Stargems Group, said, “We as a group believe in giving back to the people around us. This begins with bringing a state- of- the- art factory to Botswana which will cumulatively action growth in the form of sustainable employment with a fully trained and skilled workforce”.

Stargems is one of the first companies to bring in Synova’s DaVinci Diamond Factory, an automated laser cutting and shaping system for diamonds to Botswana. This innovative system will help manufacture a larger volume of polished diamonds over a short period. Proud of this addition, Shah added, “We are very excited to have welcomed the DaVinci Diamond Factory. The acquisition of this unparalleled technology reflects our commitment and vision for diamond beneficiation and development in Botswana and the entire Southern African region.” Initially, it is expected to process 20003000 carats of rough diamonds, which the company will potentially source from De Beers Group, Okavango Diamond Company ( Pty) Ltd (“ODC”) as well as from other subsidiaries every month.

Stargems Group is well known for its expertise in cutting and polishing large high value stones locally to bring a broader positive impact on the communities and the product itself.

The group will also be setting up a state- ofthe- art diamond training center that will be offering monthly online courses in Rough Diamond Valuation, Diamond Essentials, and Polishing Training to the locals free of cost. With this training, successful candidates will have the skills to seek employment in the industry and be given a chance to join Stargems in their operations. Stargems is keen on motivating and committing to localization practices and has grown its manufacturing operations with a staff count of 107, comprising 80 local citizen polishers and freshly inducted trainees with no diamond knowledge, along with 27 expatriate trainers at the Botswana unit. Stargems is expected to employ 150 local citizen polishers by end of 2023, these numbers are expected to grow to 500 in the next couple of years, thus, promising steady and sustained growth for the regional economy.

With the Gaborone factory fully equipped and mirroring the group’s other manufacturing unit in Johannesburg, the company foresees a revolutionary future for the diamond industry in Botswana. Apart from the diamond training center, the unit will also have a marketing department to ensure its production is marketed on all online platforms thereby bringing international exposure. Simultaneously, a supply chain of all polish diamonds will be made available to its strategic partners. The group has invested over USD 4.5 million to ensure all technology and machinery at this factory follow the highest industry standards.