SourcingSep 30, 2026
Botswana’s President, De Beers CEO Say Diamond Demand Is RecoveringSourcingNov 10, 2026
Botswana in Line to Take Controlling Stake in De Beers, President Says
If the Global Diamond Consortium emerges as the top bidder for De Beers, Botswana’s stake will double to 30 percent, Duma Boko said Monday.
Botswana President Duma Boko delivered his 2026 State of the Nation address Monday afternoon in the country’s capital city, Gaborone, speaking on the pending sale of De Beers and his government’s efforts to diversify the economy.
Gaborone, Botswana—Botswana is poised to double its stake in De Beers Group, making it the company’s single largest shareholder and opening a new chapter in the country’s story, President Duma Boko said Monday.
“Since independence, our story has been interwoven with the story of our diamonds. In recent years, the relationship lost some of its luster, confronted by the rise of synthetic stones,” he said Monday while delivering his State of the Nation address in Gaborone, attended by De Beers CEO Al Cook and Grandview Klein CEO Moshe Klein, among others.
Boko continued: “At some point, De Beers seemed to have lost sight of what gives a natural diamond its value. It stopped telling the natural diamond’s story. And the demand it had once done so much to create began to fade.
“It is the duty of the government of this republic to see to it that the country’s resources continue to serve its people.”
To this end, Boko said Botswana is backing the Global Diamond Consortium in its bid for Anglo American’s 85 percent stake in De Beers. Botswana already owns the remaining 15 percent.
Led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, the Global Diamond Consortium is reported to be the frontrunner to buy De Beers, with the deal expected to close before the end of the year.
If the Global Diamond Consortium emerges as the winning bidder, Botswana’s stake in De Beers will double from 15 percent to 30 percent, Boko said.
“Botswana will become the single largest shareholder in De Beers and with that comes greater influence in the strategic decisions for decades to come,” he said.
Under the Global Diamond Consortium’s plan, Botswana’s “neighbors and friends,” Angola and Namibia, also will take stakes in De Beers.
“For the first time, the great diamond-producing nations of our region will sit together at the ownership table of the company that markets their diamonds, united by a shared belief that local resources should bring local prosperity,” Boko said.
Related stories will be right here …
“Since independence, our story has been interwoven with the story of our diamonds. In recent years, the relationship lost some of its luster, confronted by the rise of synthetic stones,” he said Monday while delivering his State of the Nation address in Gaborone, attended by De Beers CEO Al Cook and Grandview Klein CEO Moshe Klein, among others.
Boko continued: “At some point, De Beers seemed to have lost sight of what gives a natural diamond its value. It stopped telling the natural diamond’s story. And the demand it had once done so much to create began to fade.
“It is the duty of the government of this republic to see to it that the country’s resources continue to serve its people.”
To this end, Boko said Botswana is backing the Global Diamond Consortium in its bid for Anglo American’s 85 percent stake in De Beers. Botswana already owns the remaining 15 percent.
Led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, the Global Diamond Consortium is reported to be the frontrunner to buy De Beers, with the deal expected to close before the end of the year.
If the Global Diamond Consortium emerges as the winning bidder, Botswana’s stake in De Beers will double from 15 percent to 30 percent, Boko said.
“Botswana will become the single largest shareholder in De Beers and with that comes greater influence in the strategic decisions for decades to come,” he said.
Under the Global Diamond Consortium’s plan, Botswana’s “neighbors and friends,” Angola and Namibia, also will take stakes in De Beers.
“For the first time, the great diamond-producing nations of our region will sit together at the ownership table of the company that markets their diamonds, united by a shared belief that local resources should bring local prosperity,” Boko said.
The president delivered his State of the Nation address at 2 p.m. local time on Monday. It was live streamed on Facebook.
In it, Boko addressed the “concerned” citizens of Botswana, who are grappling with many of the same issues that contributed to the widespread Democratic Party victories in the recent U.S. midterm elections, including the high price of fuel and unemployment among young people.
“As a diamond-dependent economy, as a net importer of goods, Botswana has taken an economic battering,” Boko said.
“Despite this, I say to you now, concerned citizen, we are down but we are not out.”
The president spoke repeatedly about the need to diversify Botswana’s economy to make it less diamond dependent. He noted that De Beers has paid 1 billion pula (about $73 million) of the 10 billion pula promised to Botswana for the Diamonds for Development Fund.
Governed by an independent board headed by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the fund is designed to help Botswana invest in industries outside of diamonds.
Its creation was part of the new 10-year sales agreement De Beers and Botswana signed in 2023.
Boko also mentioned the potential for Botswana, as the potential majority shareholder in De Beers, to pull in revenue from Element Six, the arm of De Beers that manufactures diamonds for industrial uses.
He said he expects the demand for industrial diamonds, which are used to prevent AI chips from overheating, to surge amid the growth in data centers worldwide.
The president mentioned specifically the plans announced by the Trump administration for a $600 million HPHT diamond grit factory in Georgia, operated by Element Six.
“Synthetics don’t belong around a beautiful woman’s finger, they belong at the end of a drill bit. That’s where they belong,” Boko said.
“They must be produced, but for that purpose.”
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