18 Feb 2026

In a room filled with policymakers, industry leaders and educators, the message was simple yet profound - that Botswana’s greatest treasure is no longer just the diamonds beneath its soil, but the skills of its human capital.

As Minister of Higher Education Mr Prince Maele rose to speak at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his ministry and the De Beers Group, he spoke not only of policy and partnership, but of possibility.

“Our minerals may open doors, but it is the skills of our people that will keep them open,” he said.

For a country whose development story has long been intertwined with diamonds, Minister Maele said the signing ceremony marked a subtle, but a significant shift in focus from what Botswana extracts from the ground to what it nurtures in its classrooms, workshops and laboratories.

The MoU, signed in Gaborone on Monday, is designed to reinforce the link between education and industry.

It also provides for collaboration on curriculum alignment, research partnerships, educator development and structured industry exposure, ensuring that students graduate not only with qualifications, but with competencies that match the evolving needs of the economy.

Minister Maele described the agreement as more than a formal document, but a deliberate investment in Botswana’s human capital and a cornerstone of the country’s broader transformation agenda anchored on skills development, economic diversification and citizen empowerment.

For decades, he said Botswana’s diamond revenues have financed schools, hospitals, roads and social programmes.

“But, as beneficiation deepens from sorting and valuing to cutting, polishing, jewellery manufacturing and downstream enterprise, the country faces a new challenge, which is building a workforce equipped for increasingly sophisticated roles,” he said.

Engineers, scientists, digital specialists, skilled technicians, researchers and entrepreneurs will be needed in greater numbers, the minister said.

Success, Minister Maele stressed, will not be measured by the signing of agreements, but by tangible outcomes such as graduates being placed in meaningful jobs, competencies being strengthened and opportunities being created.

“Nations do not transform by chance, they transform by design through deliberate partnerships, disciplined execution and bold ambition,” he added.

For her part, the De Beers Group senior vice president, People Partnering - Diamond Trading, Ms Thabile Moipolai said the moment carried both corporate and personal resonance.

She spoke of a partnership that has matured over decades and continues to evolve with clarity, confidence and shared purpose.

The MoU builds on long-term agreements concluded in 2025 between government and the De Beers Group, providing stability and certainty for sustained investment.

Investment, Ms Moipolai said, must extend beyond infrastructure and operations to the development of people.

“As our partnership with government evolves, our investment in Botswana’s talent must evolve with equal discipline and ambition,” she emphasised.

Ms Moipolai pointed to the sweeping technological changes reshaping industries across the globe, adding that skills requirements are shifting rapidly and the diamond sector is no exception.

As Botswana expands its footprint across the value chain, she said demand is also rising for advanced technical, digital and commercial expertise.

Therefore, she said the future workforce will need data specialists, supply chain professionals, artisans and globally minded leaders, alongside engineers and scientists.

For De Beers, Ms Moipolai explained that nurturing talent aligns with its sustainability framework, Building Forever, which advances livelihoods, climate action and environmental stewardship underpinned by ethical sourcing and transparent diamond provenance.

 

“Strengthening Botswana’s skills ecosystem is not peripheral to our strategy, it is fundamental to it,” she stressed.

She also highlighted the importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, noting that strong applied competencies are indispensable as industrial activity expands.

Economies that invest in vocational capability, she said, demonstrate greater productivity and resilience.

The MoU signing marks a new dawn for young Batswana students who will enter lecture halls and workshops knowing that clearer pathways now connect their education to industry opportunity.

Together, the minister’s and Ms Moipolai’s remarks reflected a shared conviction that Botswana’s diamond future will be shaped as much in classrooms and training centres as in mines and sorting facilities.

Natural diamonds may be rare, but exceptional talent, both leaders agreed, must be deliberately cultivated.

With the signing of the MoU, Botswana reaffirmed a powerful truth that its most enduring resource is not buried deep underground, but rising is steadily through its education system, ready to shape the nation’s next chapter. ENDS