160: diamonds are Botswana's best friend

This is a really great story! The article I'm posting today is from BBC online - but for a more technical, local perspective, you can also read up via the Botswanan news site Mmegi here. Both articles document Botswana's exciting new foray into diamond processing. For years, Botswana has had one of the most successful diamond mining industries in the world, but the stones have been processed abroad - meaning fewer jobs for Batswana (the people of Botswana) and a relatively modest profit from the sector. As of last night, however, that all changed. Diamond magnate De Beers has joined with the Government of Botswana to launch a joint enterprise, the Diamond Trading Company Botswana, which will sort, value, market and sell diamonds from the Debswana mines - which account for 22% of global output in the sector! In addition to the skilled workforce this will support, there are expected to be significant spin-offs in other local industries - such as banking, IT, transportation and tourism. This is as it should be. Many poor countries do not extract sufficient value from their natural resources and agricultural produce, exporting them raw or with limited processing, and others further up the supply chain reap the rewards. The Botswana diamond industry promises to show how things can be done differently, through partnership and investment in the right places. Worth replicating. (Photo from BBC online.)