The diamond cutting and polishing business is a profitable operation that incorporates the skill of cutting and polishing valuable stones. Long ago, the business was only open to whites, Indians, and Arabs.
Percy Zenda Senior established Transcontinental Gems Private Limited in Zimbabwe in 2017 to manufacture diamonds and jewelry.The company employed 20 employees. Zenda Senior believes in the value addition of precious gems and the importance of diamond cutting and polishing, as they will produce the highest returns.
”The mandate of Transcontinental Gems Private Limited is to do something different, as we are not in physical mining but into value addition”, said Zenda Senior. He went on to say,We buy diamonds from MMCZ and other semi precious stones from small-scale mines.
Around 2007, Zenda Senior had a printing business empire and sponsored several urban groove artistes, who rose to prominence. As Dynamos Football Manager, he helped two players launch successful enterprises.
Percy Zenda Junior,19 has inherited Zenda Senior’s sense of humor and commitment to community service. Zenda Junior self-taught himself diamond cutting after witnessing his father add value to diamonds, and he is now eager to freely share his knowledge with the country’s youth.
”When my father had to begin cutting and polishing, I would sit with him and observe each process. It took me months to observe, and my father was encouraged by my perseverance since he would sometimes work till early the next morning, but I would be up.”My first work was done without any help from my father,” Zenda Junior added.
”I now have a strong background in value addition within the diamond polishing industry. We now have a working place in the workshop where we will train for free, give youth knowledge about stones, and participate in country outreaches as you know investing knowledge in the product is very powerful,” Zenda Junior explained.
The young man says he will strive by all means, and he promises that one day he will be a diamond mogul in Africa.
The Zenda family wishes there were GIA laboratories for certification. There is no GIA in Zimbabwe, so final diamond exports for certification must be shipped to the United States, South Africa, or Israel.
The Young Miners Foundation has partnered with Transcontinental Gems Private Limited to ensure that over 5000 miners benefit from the Zenda Junior initiative. According to Payne Kupfuma, CEO of YMF, “this is a great opportunity for all young miners, they will be equipped, and mining level in value addition will go to another level. ”This is a brilliant idea, and we will reach everyone countrywide,” he added
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