Business Reporter
THE Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia), Alisa Amupolo, has said that Namdia has proven itself and is ready to triple or double the share of the diamond entitlement it currently receives.
This is after the company has reached a N$ 3 billion revenue mark for the current year after fetching higher prices of diamonds on behalf of the Namibian government.
Currently, Namdia receives 15% of the diamond allotment, while the rest is allocated to British Corporation De Beers and Local Shareholders. The Government Negotiating Team (GNT) is set to enter into new negotiations in May 2026 with De Beers when the current production agreement ends.
During a market presentation of the diamond industry, Namdia CEO Amupolo said that the key to Namdia’s market outlook is the wind of change that has blown next door in Botswana, where they just closed off their negotiations. Okavango Diamonds was able to secure 50% of their entitlement, allowing the Botswana government-owned company to get a greater share of the diamonds produced in Botswana and further loosened the British corporation De Beers’ grip on the global diamond market.
“We are excited about the change in Botswana because, as Namdia, we have just gone into our second year of our strategic integrated business plan. We have restructured and really oiled the wheel. We believe that we now have the capacity to handle triple or double the diamond entitlement share we receive. We are declaring to the government negotiation team that we are ready. Every diamond we touch is a promise fulfilled, in terms of social capital as well as capital given to the government,” Amupolo said, speaking at a media event held in Windhoek.
In addition to this, the CEO said that Namdia has made a great impact on Namibian society, and since the inception of the Namdia foundation in 2019, the entity has contributed N$40 million to social causes, while 2 to 3% of gross profit is committed to their social corporate responsibilities.
Amupolo further expressed hopes of carving out a space in the midstream and downstream industry, especially in the Jewellery industry where the greatest value lies.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Operations Officer at Namdia, Uahoroka Kauta, said that the good performance of Namdia is underpinned by sound governance, and for the first time since inception, profit after tax is N$409.2 million, driven by a N$3.1 billion revenue.
“This has grown from a revenue of N$1.9 billion last year. This is a growth of N$1.2 billion increase in revenue. This growth is driven by the increase in the volume of goods sold, which has grown by 15%, as well as the increase in the prices we are able to fetch for the diamonds outside the De Beers price book. Last year we were fetching prices 12% above the standard selling value,” Kauta said.
Caption: scenes from the media event held by Namdia this week.
