The Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) last week hosted a group of United States institutional investors representing assets over $2 trillion, who wanted first-hand information about the country’s diamond industry as a taste of the broader economy.
Delegates in the group included chief investment officers and other decision makers from institutional investors such as Bank of America Securities ($1.5 trillion in assets under management), Mercer ($380 billion) New York City Board of Education Retirement System ($267 billion) and several others.
Led by Prosper Africa, the institutional investors were in the country for the US Africa Business Summit, which attracted more than 1,000 delegates and several heads of state for four-day interactions centred around value chains. Prosper Africa is the US government initiative to increase trade and investment between African nations and the United States.
Speaking after the investors’ tour and briefing, DTCB Sedireng Serumola told Mmegi the visit was key for any potential investors who want to learn more about Botswana, its primary economic drivers and trends. The DTBC is a 50/50 joint venture between government and De Beers, established in 2006 to sort and value stones from Debswana, before selling these to De Beers and the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company.
“When the delegates are here, it’s to appreciate the culture, appreciate what is driving the economy, the structure of the economy and they came to DTCB because we are one of the strategic assets of this country,” Serumola said. “Therefore it was more about trying to get an understanding of the diamond industry and the market. “We were able to have conversations with them, offline, for them to understand what is actually driving the markets.”
He said some of the investors had expressed interest in partnering in the diamond industry.
“They came to listen and gauge what is happening and also have one on ones in in some cases, so that they can be able to take information and assess it and engage some of their stakeholders. “As an example, one of them was saying there are some people who are actually interested in getting into the diamond business and we are providing them with information to understand the requirements, provide access to ODC, access to the Diamond Office and others,” he said.
Serumola said it was important for the country to correctly position itself as an investment destination on the continent and sell its opportunities to potential investors.
“The key thing is that we should understand that yes they are here for the Summit, but later on, they will go to Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt and we have to see what they will be taking out of their visit here,” he told Mmegi. “This kind of visit and other areas they are going to go, provides them with an opportunity to make that assessment of where the opportunities are.”
The Prosper Africa investors also held high level discussions with the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre, as well as numerous engagements at the Summit.
