Story by Abigirl Tembo
THE Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) is intensifying efforts to maximise revenue from the nation’s diamond sector through strategic partnerships with leading Indian firms in cutting, polishing, and jewellery manufacturing.
As one of Africa’s prominent diamond producers, Zimbabwe is seeking to capture more value from its minerals by reducing reliance on intermediaries and expanding local beneficiation. This initiative forms part of the Chalo-Zimbabwe trade and investment mission in Gujarat, India.
ZCDC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Douglas Zimbango, said the engagements aim to provide Zimbabwe with direct market access and advanced technical knowledge.
“We have visited Gujarat specifically to look at how best we can add value to our diamonds. From SRK and Hare Krishna, we realised that we can have direct access to the market because 99 percent of our diamonds end up in India, but we go through third parties. In terms of technology, we also noticed that they are way ahead of us, especially in the diamond cutting industry, where they are now using water technology as opposed to our laser-based technology, which can damage diamonds. We hope to partner with them for direct access, but also for diamond polishing and cutting,” he said.
As part of the engagements, Hare Krishna Group has offered to train 50 Zimbabwean students in advanced cutting and polishing of diamonds.
“When we went to Hare Krishna, they offered us a scholarship for about 50 students to come and learn how to cut and polish diamonds. So this is an opportunity for the cutting and polishing sector in Zimbabwe to gain first-class knowledge on how to cut and polish. We hope that we will send a team for training, a team that will also train other Zimbabweans back home in cutting and polishing, so that we add value to our diamonds instead of exporting them all raw,” Mr Zimbango added.
The move is aligned with Vision 2030, which prioritises value addition and beneficiation to grow exports, create jobs, and increase foreign currency earnings.
Zimbabwe also expects to significantly improve the diamond sector’s contribution to the GDP by integrating cutting, polishing, and direct market access, while reducing revenue leakages from intermediary-driven trade.
