44 trainees from the Karibib Gemstone Centre graduated in gemstone cutting and polishing.

For decades, foreigners would come to Namibia to buy raw gemstones, with the value addition taking place elsewhere.

This means the stones are bought for much lower prices and often come back at a higher cost.

To counter this, the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade introduced a training programme in gemstone cutting and polishing as one of the key interventions aimed at ensuring the creation of a viable and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem under the Enhancing Entrepreneurship Development Programme in Namibia (EMPRETEC Namibia).

The training caters to students who only have a Grade 10 qualification so that they too can have a chance to have skills in order to curb unemployment.