For years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has exported diamonds in their roughest form, only for the most valuable part of the story to be written elsewhere. That may be starting to change.
A new strategic agreement between the Congolese government’s Mining Fund for Future Generations, known as FOMIN, and Swiss-based diamond technology company ADEX Platform could mark a turning point for the country’s diamond industry, Reported by Business Insider Africa.
The partnership has created ADEX RDC S.A., a joint venture with equal ownership, designed to build a domestic diamond processing and marketing ecosystem inside the DRC.
At the heart of the plan is a simple but powerful idea: keep more value at home. Instead of sending rough stones abroad for cutting, polishing, and resale, the venture aims to establish an international-standard diamond cutting and jewellery manufacturing facility within the country.
It will also launch a digital marketplace that connects Congolese diamonds directly with global buyers, reducing dependence on intermediaries who have long taken a share of the value.
For a country rich in mineral wealth but too often short on local value capture, the agreement carries symbolic and economic weight.
The timing is especially important. Diamond production in the DRC has reportedly fallen from about 13 million carats in 2021 to 8.1 million carats in 2025, while smuggling continues to weaken government revenue and blur the trail of legitimate trade. With artisanal miners responsible for around 85% of production, the sector has remained highly vulnerable to informal exports and weak traceability.
That is why this deal is about more than diamonds. It reflects a broader shift in thinking across the country’s resource sectors, from cobalt and copper to battery minerals. The message is clear: Africa should not only extract wealth, but also process, package, and profit from it.
If the ADEX RDC venture succeeds, the DRC could move from being mainly a rough diamond supplier to a stronger player in the polished diamond and jewellery market. More importantly, it could offer a practical model for other African countries seeking to reclaim control over their mineral value chains.
For women in the mining ecosystem, and for the wider trade industry, that could mean more than improved revenues. It could mean new opportunities, stronger local markets, better formalization, and a more inclusive place in a sector that has too often left value and people at the margins.
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