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Can Botswana Survive the Lab-Grown Diamond Boom?

September 4
15 mins

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Episode Description

Botswana became one of the richest countries in Africa because it's the world's biggest producer of diamonds by value -- but with lab-grown gems soaring in popularity, the sparsely-populated desert nation is facing a social and economic existential crisis

President Boko has pledged to diversify the economy away from its over-reliance on a single resource, but the changes may have come too late.

On this week’s episode, Bloomberg’s Matthew Hill and Botswana-based reporter Mbongeni Mguni join Jennifer Zabasajja to discuss their latest reporting from the region, and what the impact of the diamond slump looks like on the ground in Botswana.

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