De Beers Group Gathers Business Leaders to Discuss a Legacy Boost for Community

Around 40 business executives and representatives from the Musina Local Municipality and the Musina Youth in Business Forum gathered to identify tangible improvements that could strengthen the economy in the area.

In his keynote address at the event hosted by De Beers at Venetia mine’s Diamond Club, mine Assistant General Manager Hendrick Matjila focused on local procurement and developing a diversified economy.

“Business cannot exist in isolation,” he said. “At Venetia mine, we are cognisant of the fact that we cannot sustain our operation without ploughing back into our communities.

“We know that, if we are to achieve our goal of leaving a lasting legacy beyond the life of Venetia mine, it starts with supporting local enterprises and developing our entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

De Beers offers support to communities in South Africa through an enterprise development programme known as Zimele (it means ‘standing on one’s own feet’), which fosters the development of small or medium-sized businesses. It has supported 3,054 jobs since it began (69 in 2016) and 262 enterprises (10 in 2016).

A US$2 billion underground extension of the Venetia mine is under way, the country’s biggest single investment in the diamond industry in decades. The mine is keen to collaborate with government and local businesses to develop a sustainable and thriving local economy for when mining eventually ceases.

As part of the project, Venetia mine is providing training and capacity building for small and medium-sized enterprises in host communities, as well as technical and financial support to improve local roads and infrastructure.

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to ‘Building Forever’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

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