Using the value of diamonds for upliftment
TaTe Diamonds, an investment holding company headquartered in Windhoek, is on a mission to become a fully vertically-integrated Namibian-owned diamond company operating internationally among other leading diamond companies.
Founder and managing director Tangeni Shiimi yaShiimi said the company is fully-operational with cutting and polishing at the factory located in Windhoek. These operations are described as the backbone of the company, which boasts a diverse workforce, comprising of 10 Indian expatriates and 23 Namibians.
“We are proud to be able to produce both round and fancy cut polished diamonds of the highest quality. We are continuously embracing the latest technology and best practices to ensure our production numbers and quality remain globally competitive,” stated Shiimi yaShiimi during the enterprise development programme graduation this week.
In January 2023, TaTe
Diamonds was selected to be part of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company’s (NDT) enterprise development programme, leading to notable milestones such as the formation of TaTe Jewels, the polished jewellery distribution arm in Atlanta, US.
“This is a critical part of our vertical-integrated strategy, which will see the US retailing our polished diamonds as well as diamond jewelry in the US market. The end may be an owned and sourced-only Namibian-mined diamond outlet that places us in a unique space to focus on provenance as a key marketing strategy,” said Ya Shiimi.
He added the company aims to encapsulate provenance and traceability, working with ethically-sourced diamonds while building a financially-sound, robust, scalable business.
Moreover, the company believes that corporate social investment is key. Hence, apart from direct and indirect social-economic impactofemployingand upskilling Namibians, it also sponsors annual Christmas lunches for retirees.
“The Christmas lunch includes shopping vouchers for all families, as well as the distribution of food baskets. We sponsor two orphanages, Megameno and Dolam Children’s Home. We are committed to expanding our social responsibility efforts by distributing a share of the company profits to the community as soon as cash flow stability and profitability are achieved,” stated yaShiimi.
Meanwhile, NDTC’s CEO Brent Eiseb updated the diamond trading company’s performance over the 2023 financial year, noting although they have seen some stability during the first two months of 2024, the jury remains out on how the industry will perform for the rest of the year.
He noted that for the 2023 financial year, NDTC has sorted, valued and marketed more than 2.3 million carats.
Eiseb highlighted: “To fully capacitate this, NDTC has increased its staff complement by 13%, particularly in the diamond sorting and valuation department, and has at the same time expanded its technological cultural footprint with successful adoption of world-class sorting technology that enables efficient and effective methods of facilitating its sorting and valuation mandate.”
Notable achievements by NDTC include investments in training and development worth N$1.9 million, and N$100 million in dividends paid to shareholders. The company has also paid N$197 million in export levies.