Can Zim’s coloured gemstone sector become a US$2bn industry?

By Martin January and Paul Matshona

Zimbabwe possesses a significant and diverse endowment of coloured gemstones, including emeralds, tourmalines, aquamarines, garnets, and amethysts.

Yet, the nation captures only a minimal portion of the total value  these resources could generate.

This paradox stems from a sector dominated by artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), where the bulk of value-addition processes—such as sorting, grading, cutting, branding, jewellery design, and retail—are conducted offshore.

Furthermore, the market is characterized by information asymmetries, illicit trading, and underdeveloped support services in finance, certification, and training.

We contend that a US$2 bn coloured gemstone economy is an achievable target within a decade. Realizing this potential depends on implementing a coherent “value-in-country” strategy, built upon five core pillars:

(1)Enhanced geological intelligence and systematic licensing,

(2) Formalization and traceability integration for ASM,

(3) Scaling technical skills development and certification,

(4) Fostering industrial clusters for cutting and jewellery manufacturing, and

(5) Developing robust market infrastructure and branding.

 

Initial building blocks, such as the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ)– Zimbabwe School of Mines (ZSM) gemstone cutting and polishing centre, are emerging.

To evolve into full-fledged, export-grade value chains, these initiatives require significant scaling, steadfast policy support, and substantial injection of private capital.

 

• Strategic Licensing and Geological Intelligence for Supply Stability

 

A fundamental constraint within Zimbabwe’s gemstone economy is its fragmented and inconsistent supply chain. This irregularity compels buyers to apply price discounts due to uncertain provenance, inhibits effective production planning for cutters and jewellers, and deters financiers from providing working capital in the absence of predictable raw material supply.

Addressing this instability necessitates the strengthening of upstream geological intelligence as a foundational priority.

While recent technical assessments confirm the breadth of Zimbabwe’s coloured gemstone endowment, a significant number of occurrences beyond a limited number of emerald and pegmatite deposits remain inadequately evaluated.

The development of a national Gem Prospectivity Atlas integrating data from re-logged pegmatites, mapped emerald schists, spectral anomalies, and artisanal mining hotspots would provide a critical tool for systematic licensing by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and the Zimbabwe Geological Survey (ZGS).

 

This would enable the MMCZ to release standardised parcels through competitive auctions, thereby stabilising primary supply for domestic processing units.

 

This initiative directly addresses the documented challenge of converting geological occurrences into bankable deposits with reliable production schedules.

 

This geology-led licensing framework must be complemented by the introduction of small, renewable micro-concessions for Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASM), governed by streamlined compliance protocols.

The objective of this integrated approach is not to exclude artisanal miners, but to formalise their operations by channelling production into predictable and traceable supply streams, thus providing downstream industries with a reliable foundation.

 

• Formalization plus traceability: bring ASM into the value chain, not out of itZimbabwe has already experimented with delegated buying through MMCZ sub-agents for coloured stones; an important step that nudges informal trade toward legal channels while keeping proximity to diggers.

That architecture should be expanded and digitized: sub-agents equipped with mobile grading kits, QR-coded parcel IDs, and e-receipts tied to a national gemstone ledger (a simple database, not blockchain theatre).

 

The point is verifiable origin and payment transparency, which, in turn, unlocks better prices for miners and reduces leakage to illicit markets.

 

A pragmatic compliance ladder would help: a one-page ASM registration; on-site safety and environmental checklists; and eligibility for subsidized training and equipment once a miner logs three traceable sales.

 

This “earn your way up” model formalizes behaviour rather than criminalizing livelihoods.

 

 

3) Skills and certification at scale: cut where you mine.  The value in coloured gemstones is overwhelmingly created after extraction: identification, sorting, grading, cutting styles matched to crystal habit, optimization for colour/saturation, treatments, and design. Zimbabwe’s public demonstration effect is visible in the MMCZ–ZSM gemstone cutting and polishing centre, which was procured and commissioned specifically to drive beneficiation under NDS1.

 

That facility should be the nucleus of a national skills stack: short courses in lapidary techniques, advanced faceting, inclusion-led planning, and quality assurance, Global certification matters both for market access and for building a domestic cadre of instructors.

The gold-standard is the Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

 

Current published tuition for core programs underscores both the value and the cost barrier: Graduate Gemmologist (GG) tuition around US$24.6k (tuition alone), Graduate Coloured Stones ~US$18k, and additional living costs that push total “cost of attendance” per program well above US$30k in major hubs.

 

These figures make the case for (a) scholarships for a small annual cohort to train abroad and return as trainers; and (b) aggressive localization of equivalent curricula at ZSM/Polytechnics, priced for Zimbabwean conditions, taught by “GIA-seeded” talent.

 

Two near-term actions would multiply impact: (1) Train-the-trainer pipeline which entails funding 10–15 Zimbabweans per year to complete GIA GG or Graduate Coloured Stones, bonded to teach locally for 3–5 years, thereby seeding thousands of local certifications over a decade; (2) Dual-track diplomas that are stackable ZSM credentials that articulate into a domestic “Graduate Coloured Stones Equivalent,” assessed by external examiners and aligned to international standards.

• Industrial clustering: learn from India and China, then localizeThe global dominance of hubs like Jaipur, India, for coloured stones and Guangdong, China, for jade is not derived from geological advantage but from highly developed industrial ecosystems. Jaipur’s competitive edge stems from centuries of specialised cutting expertise, now integrated with modern and fusion jewellery manufacturing.

This concentration creates powerful agglomeration economies, encompassing a dense network of highly skilled artisans, precision toolmakers, calibrators, parcel brokers, and exporters, which together drive efficiency and innovation at scale.

Similarly, Guangdong’s jadeite hubs exemplify a rigorously disciplined division of labour. Their model ensures high efficiency through segmented and specialised processes, from rough trading and calibrated cutting to wholesale distribution and logistics.

For Zimbabwe, the strategic imperative is not to replicate these models in their exact form, but to emulate their underlying principle: that concentrated expertise and interconnected services create unrivalled competitiveness. The focus must be on localising this cluster logic to build a vertically integrated, globally competitive gem and jewellery sector based on Zimbabwe’s unique strengths and resource base.

• Markets, branding, and the war on leakage

Illicit markets persist where margins are high, and policing is weak.

Enforcement helps, but price realism and speed beat smuggling: if miners can sell quickly, transparently, and at a fair discount to international reference prices, leakage falls. The MMCZ sub-agent model is a start; add weekly floor-price bulletins for common stones and qualities (referencing international wholesale ranges), published openly; run fortnightly micro-auctions (physical and online) for parcels above a threshold; and create a Zimbabwe Gemstone Mark for stones that pass traceability and disclosure standards.Branding can’t be an afterthought. Jaipur and Chinese hubs aren’t just efficient; they’re legible to buyers. Zimbabwe should publish cutting styles and strengths, register geographic indications where appropriate, and socialize disclosure to build trust with dealers.

6) Women and youth: from rhetoric to pipelineWomen and youth are already present in Zimbabwe’s ASM; but under-represented in the high-value rungs (grading, cutting, design, business ownership).

A US$2 bn strategy must be explicit: 50% of all public training seats reserved for women and youth, free childcare during classes, and micro-grants for toolkits (trim saws, laps, microscopes) tied to completion and performance.

Women-led cooperatives should be fast-tracked for micro-concessions and linked to sub-agents with guaranteed weekly buying windows.

The Gemstones Conference and Fair can institutionalize a Women in Gems Summit with pitch sessions for women-owned ateliers and prizes paid in equipment vouchers rather than trophies.

7) The training network we already have-extend it

Zimbabwe possesses a strategic advantage in its established technical education base. The MMCZ– ZSM gemstone centre serves as a critical demonstration model for value-addition. This foundation must be expanded into a cohesive national training framework, with roles clearly delineated across institutions: ZSM should focus on advanced gemmology and lapidary; Polytechnics on precision machining and casting; Universities on advanced materials science, including treatments and fracture mechanics; and community colleges on entry-level identification and safety training.

To ensure national reach and standardisation, the MMCZ should champion the development of certified curricula and deploy mobile training units to rotate through mining districts. These initiatives must issue stackable micro-credentials that contribute toward formal diploma qualifications.

Furthermore, a clear pathway from graduation to economic participation is essential.

To prevent a scenario of “trained but idle” personnel, training must be integrated with real-market demand. Each student cohort should be paired with actual production orders from export firms. This model would allow students to process real gem parcels under supervision, receive payment for stones that meet quality standards, and graduate into guaranteed employment or supplier contracts. Over a five-year horizon, this approach can catalyse the development of hundreds of micro-workshops, creating a robust supply chain for a core group of leading export enterprise8) Conferences and convening: from talk-shop to deal-shop.

The inauguration of an annual Zimbabwe Gemstones Conference and Fair, scheduled for 22-24 October 2025, is a strategically valuable initiative.

 

It functions as a deadline-driven marketplace that concentrates buyers, sellers, trainers, and regulators, thereby enhancing market efficiency.

To build industry awareness and momentum, a documentary titled Stones of Promise: Why the Gemstone Industry Matters should be premiered as part of the event’s opening proceedings.

However, to effectively catalyse progress toward a US$2 bn industry, the event must be deliberately curated to facilitate transactions. This requires moving beyond a traditional forum to an outcome-oriented platform featuring pre-arranged buyer-seller appointments, dedicated “meet-the-cutters” showrooms, on-site certification services, and access to on-the-spot working capital financing secured against firm purchase orders.

A core objective must be to function as a seamless one-stop shop, enabling buyers and sellers to complete transactions for export purposes with streamlined support from key regulators, including the MMCZ and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).

The conference agenda is structured around three core thematic days to focus discussions and attract targeted stakeholders and covers the following; Policy and Regulation: Focusing on licensing, formalization, and trade facilitation, Day 2:

Finance and Investment

Addressing access to capital, venture funding, and financial products for the gemstone value chain, Day 3:

ESG, and Women and Youth in Mining: Promoting ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, and inclusive economic participation.

To ensure comprehensive value, the conference should also host parallel technical sessions on innovative processing technologies alongside a dedicated community forum.

Finally, to ensure transparency and anchor market expectations, a post-conference Deal Book should be published, formally recording volumes transacted, prices achieved, and future commitments made.

10) Financing the climb

A gemstone economy is a working-capital game. Miners need cash to mine the next pocket; cutters to buy rough and hold inventory; exporters to aggregate.

Create a Gemstone Working Capital Facility with three tranches:ASM Advance: small, rapid loans against QR-coded parcels logged through sub-agents.Cutter Credit: revolving lines tied to training completion and pass-rate (stones that meet grade).Exporter Paper: purchase-order financing collateralized by confirmed overseas orders.

Public money can de-risk the first loss, but the engine must be private: local banks and micro-lenders comfortable with gem collateral because grading/valuation is standardized and insured.Final wordTransforming Zimbabwe’s coloured gemstone landscape is not about “discovering” a US$2 bn miracle. It’s about compounding modest, doable steps: get the geology organized; formalize without strangling; teach thousands to world-class standards; concentrate cutters and jewellers in productive clusters; and make the market legible with transparent prices and traceable parcels.

The country already has credible building blocks; the MMCZ–ZSM training centre, an emerging national Gemstones Conference, and statutory tools for structured buying.

Tie these to a clear industrial policy and disciplined private execution, and the question shifts from “Can we reach US$2bn?” to “How fast without cutting corners on ethics, environment, or equity?”

That is a transformation worthy of Zimbabwe’s stones and its people