15 June 2025
This week, I spoke with Botswana president Duma Boko and the country’s minister of minerals and energy, Bogolo Kenewendo, in two separate interviews during the World Federation of Diamond Bourses’ presidents’ meeting in New York City.
Their main message: Botswana wants to raise its profile, not just within the diamond industry but among U.S. consumers.
Below are edited highlights of our talks, which cover plans to publicise the “Botswana story,” as well as last week’s JCK show in Las Vegas, in-country cutting, and De Beers’ closure of Lightbox.
Duma Boko, president of Botswana…
Mr. President, you’re a relative newcomer to the industry. Can you tell us about yourself?
My [life] tells the story of my country. From the most humble of beginnings, I was educated on revenues that came from natural diamonds. [Those revenues] put me through primary school, secondary school, and university. I studied law at university and was able to go to Harvard Law School. I returned to the country, taught law at the University of Botswana, and practised as a lawyer.
I’ve seen this resilience replicated in the lives of the people of Botswana, many who otherwise would have had no chance at all. They’ve been raised on the back of revenue coming from natural diamonds. And so I dedicated my life to the defense of human rights, the promotion of the interests of the country and its people. This is why I wanted to script a totally new narrative for the country.
You were just at JCK Las Vegas. What were your impressions?
I saw an industry that now wants to get some clear direction, that wants to anchor itself on ethics, that wants these diamonds to remain markers of specialness. That is what I saw – special people seeking to associate and promote this special product.
You have been quoted as saying that no diamonds should leave the country without being manufactured domestically. Is that a new policy?
That was a restatement of a fundamental principle. We’ve always encouraged the establishment of cutting and polishing outfits in Botswana. And this has happened. So there was nothing new. [My comments were meant] to strengthen ideas and practices that are already in place, and to invite others to come and participate and have a foothold at the very headquarters of diamonds.
It wasn’t asserting anything new or laying down any new bright lines or timeframes. It’s an incremental process. We invite more of you to come and participate and be involved.
We may set up museums to chronicle the [diamond] story—not just from the point of view of Botswana but also about other places that have been positively impacted from diamonds.
In February, Botswana signed a new contract with De Beers. Will anything be different as a result?
I think this agreement creates new vistas of opportunity, and we are very happy to have concluded it. We now have “diamonds for development” programmes. We now have revenue for social programmes that seek to uplift common people, to help them develop skills, and run projects that empower and foster entrepreneurship among our people.
We will also market [our] diamonds by category and by provenance. We will be able to tell the story of these diamonds, and have [consumers] appreciate that the lives of real people have been empowered and sustained by them. When people buy or handle the diamonds, we want them to appreciate the real soul behind them. It’s a story that sparkles and scintillates in the same manner that the diamonds [do].
As I’ve said many times, and I say it here again, I’ll say it again tomorrow and the day after: Love cannot be grown in a lab.
Anything else you want people to know?
I invite you to come to Botswana. I was talking to one investor recently who came for the first time, and he said he’d fallen in love with it. He said there was a fundamental niceness about the place. So I tell you that if you come here, you will find that too.
Bogolo Kenewendo, Botswana minister of minerals and energy…
Minister, many people have been talking about De Beers and Botswana, but another miner with a presence in your country, Lucara, recently issued a “going concern” warning. How is that company doing?
They are feeling the pinch as much as we are, but they are holding on strong, maintaining employment, which I believe is a strong sign they believe the market will rebound and that this is a temporary setback.
Are you starting to see signs of a rebound for natural diamonds?
Yes, and it feels good. [Sales in] markets like India have grown 25% year-over-year, and we are just waiting to be able to say the same [about our sales].
De Beers just announced it is closing down its Lightbox lab-grown subsidiary. Any thoughts on that?
We’re very pleased that De Beers ended Lightbox. That was part of our agreement. We said, “If you want to continue trading in our highest-valued diamonds, you can’t also hold on to synthetics.”
We believe synthetics have a place in the market. We said, “Take it to computers, to semiconductors and other innovations, just not anywhere where it can be perceived to be near gem.”
Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) will sell more diamonds under terms of the new contract. Okavango typically sells through auctions, but I hear that will change.
We’re not giving up the auctions, but ODC will launch its contract model in September, and we’re hoping that this will bring more stability into the market but also help us capture more value. The previous agreement [with De Beers] had a noncompete, and this new one does not. So it allows for ODC to offer contracts, maybe to some sightholders and maybe attract some new players.
How do you plan to tell the “Botswana story” to consumers?
There are a few large luxury brands that will also come out with Botswana-specific lines. We are working with the [Natural Diamond Council] on more marketing and consumer education programmes. We will also push both trading missions and consumer missions, so they get to experience the mine tourism but also safari tourism.
I’ve told my personal story as a “diamond baby,” and I completely loved that the president shared his personal story today. When you listen to these stories, sometimes you might think these people are all telling the same story, but that’s just the uniqueness of what Botswana has been able to do with its diamonds.
We’re working towards carbon neutrality, so we hope to bring actual “green” diamonds to market. You should always ask where your diamond comes from and know that if it comes from Botswana, you are getting the best—by quality, by value, and by the impact it creates.
By: Rob Bates
Source: https://rb.gy/kkpwq8
