Home > About Us > Debswana Diamonds Social Impact Over the Years
Improving Livelihoods – Debswana has a robust Socio-Economic Development (SED) Strategy in place.
By prioritizing these three (3) strategic themes, Debswana aims to build sustainable, resilient and thriving communities by developing non-mining sectors, such as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. Further, the aim is to promote entrepreneurship, accelerate rural economy and support development of Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) to create jobs and build a more resilient economy and achieve lasting impact for the communities in our AOI. The Theory of Change guideline is in place to deliver more impact as an improvement from the previous strategy.
Debswana recognises the strategic importance of its suppliers and understands the impact of their performance on its overall performance. Inward-looking business improvement initiatives that do not reach suppliers or contractors miss the opportunity to leverage synergies to deliver greater impacts. It is against this reality that Debswana overhauled its Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programme to develop sustainable Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs), to strengthen its local supply base and enhance its contribution to the socio-economic development of Botswana.
In August 2017, Debswana along with other partners (Government, De Beers and Anglo American) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Tokafala Enterprise Development Programme. The Tokafala Enterprise Development Programme began as a pilot in January 2014 in an effort to capacitate Small, Micro and Medium sized business for increased economic growth and reduced unemployment.
The Debswana Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) is delivered through a blend of initiatives such as localization of long-term strategic contracts; skills and entrepreneurship development; partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers; creation of citizen opportunities in local repairs and maintenance sector; industry development in the repairs and maintenance sector by investing in a repairs and rebuild centre for Botswana; and leveraging Debswana’s supply chain to support local manufacturing in the mining industry and other sectors of the economy.
In 1974, Debswana introduced a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programme, which at the time was called the Donations Programme, aimed at funding projects that would uplift communities and create a sustainable legacy of prosperity. From 2011 to 2021, the annual CSI budget and spend was P15 million. This was increased in 2022 to P30 million. Furthermore, in addition to the P30 million, Debswana does corporate sponsorship for social and community projects, collaborative partnerships with government and private sector, as well as a broad portfolio of sport programmes and social initiatives.
The spirit of philanthropy extends across the company. Over the years, Debswana employees continue to volunteer their financial and human resources to various community development initiatives. Through company’s Employee Volunteerism Procedure, employees are allowed a number of hours to provide their skills for various community projects. In addition, match-funding is provided where employees provide financial resources for community development initiatives.
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