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In 1967, the year after Botswana gained its independence
In 1967, the year after Botswana gained its independence from Britain, a huge diamond deposit was discovered in a remote area called Orapa, about 400 kilometers, or 250 miles, from the capital city of Gaborone. The company that found the source was DeBeers, then, as now, the dominant seller of “rough stones” in the world. Four years and $33 million later, the mine was ready for production.
In the early years of its nationhood, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of about $80 a year. Today, it is among the most prosperous countries in Africa, with a real middle class and a per capita income approaching $6,000 a year. By contrast, the average citizen in Angola earns about $2,500 a year, while in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is a little more than $1,500, according to the World Bank.
There is no question that the discovery of the diamonds was the most important catalyst in Botswana’s economic growth. Prior to the discovery, Botswana had an agricultural economy. By the early 1980s, diamond, manganese, and copper mines controlled by DeBeers accounted for fully 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Though the Botswana economy has since diversified, DeBeers’ operations still account for around one-third of the Botswana gross domestic product. There is also no question, though, that Botswana was greatly aided by something else: DeBeers’ own sense of corporate responsibility.
From the start, it entered

into a 50–50 diamond mining venture with the government; about a decade ago, it also sold the government a 15 percent stake in the company. It has also built hospitals and schools in Botswana; worked to help the country deal with HIV and AIDS; assisted the government in building roads and infrastructure; and been involved in a hundred other things that have helped make Botswana an African success story. Most of the executives in the government-company venture are black Africans who have been trained by DeBeers. In 2008, the company closed its diamond sorting facility in London and opened the largest, most technologically advanced diamond sorting complex in the world in Gaborone. It employs 600 people.
“We think our approach is a competitive advantage,” said Gareth Penny, the cherubic, 45-year-old South African who has been the company chief executive since 2006. It is hard to disagree. Botswana’s citizens need roads, but so does DeBeers, to transport its diamonds. DeBeers needs a healthy work force, so its emphasis on HIV awareness and treatment is clearly in its self-interest. A more prosperous Botswana helps DeBeers in every way imaginable, not least by providing a stable environment in which it can do business. “The country can now attract banks and service industries—and avoid the natural resource curse,” Penny said.36
Do you think that DeBeers was simply acting in its own self-interest and social responsibility played no part? What else might DeBeers do in Botswana to demonstrate its social responsibility?
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