‘Moments of truth’: Belgian company HB Antwerp is using blockchain to track each diamond’s story

30 November 2022

HB-Botswana-pioneers-with-sone-of-the-HB-Antwerp-senior-staff.(pic contributed)

Share this story

Simply disrupting the traditional diamond supply chain isn’t quite what the founders of Belgian company HB Antwerp are aiming to do. They want a revolution.

The company launched in 2020 with the goal of using technology to bring visibility to the traditionally opaque diamond industry. Its founders hope to establish a new standard for diamonds by providing an end-to-end picture of each stone’s trajectory, from mine to consumer, while ensuring greater equity for diamonds’ countries of origin.

Those efforts center on using blockchain technology and the Microsoft Cloud to create a digital ledger of each diamond’s story — starting with where the stone came from, down to the precise excavation location, and following it as it is sorted, analyzed, transformed from rough stone to sparkling diamond and finally, delivered to the consumer.

Close-up photo of a man working in a diamond processing facility.HB Antwerp’s mission is focused on empowering local communities to benefit from the diamond industry and have a greater stake in its future.

Those “moments of truth,” as HB Antwerp calls them, will enable diamond-mining countries to see how much value their stones generate, and conscious-minded buyers to know where their diamonds come from. They also create an enormous amount of data — over 3,000 verification points for each stone.

“The main challenge was that it’s never been done before,” says Shai de-Toledo, one of HB Antwerp’s founders.

Realizing the need for a partner capable of scaling the solution to any country, HB Antwerp turned to Microsoft. The companies worked together to develop a blockchain ledger built on Microsoft Azure and an enterprise resource planning system using Microsoft Dynamics 365. Data from each diamond is stored in a proprietary IoT device, essentially a minivault that can’t be opened without documenting that action in the ledger. (See a demo of HB Antwerp’s IoT capsule.) 

Photo of smiling young woman working at a diamond processing facility.The HB Antwerp Innovation Lab opened in Botswana in 2021 to train graduate students, particularly women, for careers in its facility there.

The data is then uploaded to Power BI, Microsoft’s data visualization platform, to provide governments and mining companies with a real-time view of their diamonds’ value appreciation. The goal, de-Toledo says, is to make information about each diamond available to consumers through a link to the ledger.

“We are trying to package this entire journey and deliver it to the consumer in a way that will create an environment that others find it very difficult to compete with,” he says. “Having a ledger and a representation of the journey means that for the first time, consumers can ask themselves, ‘Where did the diamond come from? What was its impact? Which people benefited from it?’”

The traditional diamond supply chain, de-Toledo says, has commodified diamonds and diluted their value, with many players involved and little benefit flowing to the countries and people who produce the diamonds.

“For more than a century, the diamond industry has made billions from obfuscating every stone’s journey,” he says. “Where it’s from, who added value to it, how the value is — or isn’t — benefitting local communities, or even what a fair price should be for consumers. We feel it’s done so much harm that simply ‘disrupting’ feels like an evolution. This is a revolution.”

Outdoor group shot of HB Antwerp employees and diamond industry workers in Botswana.HB Antwerp’s approach to purchasing diamonds has resulted in 40% higher royalties to the Botswana government over the past two years.

A ‘seismic shift’ for Botswana

Integral to HB Antwerp’s mission is empowering local communities to benefit from the diamond industry and have a greater stake in its future. In Botswana, that has meant investing in the country, ensuring a fairer price for its diamonds and creating new opportunities for its people. The HB Antwerp Innovation Lab opened in Botswana in 2021 to train engineering and technology graduate students, particularly women, for careers in its facility there. Additionally, HB Antwerp will soon open an academy in Botswana to train local diamond polishers.

In 2020, HB Antwerp began implementing its new ecosystem under a partnership with the Lucara Diamond Corporation at its Karowe mine in Botswana. HB Antwerp is purchasing diamonds from the mine based on their value as polished stones, rather than the standard practice of paying for rough product. That has resulted in 40% higher diamond royalties to the Botswana government over the past two years, according to HB Antwerp.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi characterized the new approach as a “seismic shift” for the country. “I can tell you we do not want to revert to the standard we had,” he says.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi with Teresa Hutson, vice president of Microsoft’s Tech and Corporate Responsibility Group.Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, left, with Teresa Hutson, vice president of Microsoft’s Tech and Corporate Responsibility Group, during a U.N. General Assembly event.

At a U.N. General Assembly event in September, Masisi said he thinks HB Antwerp’s approach could be used by other African countries and can help meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by U.N. member states.

“We want to go out and really market this,” he said. “We want to see the relationship between African governments and those who they partner with fundamentally change. There’s no reason to think we’re going to attain the SDGs with (current) models. It just won’t work.”

Ultimately, says HB Antwerp co-founder Rafael Papismedov, the goal is to provide knowledge and training that will enable Botswana and other African countries to have greater ownership over their natural resources and grow their economies.

“We believe the future of this industry is to transform the diamond in the country of origin,” he says. “This mineral belongs to the people, and it’s the people that will be involved in every step of it.”

Watch additional HB Antwerp videos and learn more about their story by visiting www.microsoft.com/industrysolutions/HBAntwerp.

Last Posts

President Putin announces Easter ceasefire

President of Russia Vladimir Putin announces Easter ceasefire

Share this story

Share this storyDuring a meeting at the Kremlin with the Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov President Vladimir Putin declared that the Russian Side is ceasing all military action starting…

30 November 2022

On April 17, 2025, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a telephone conversation

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has a phone conversation with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio

Share this story

Share this storyOn April 17, 2025, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a telephone conversation. Secretary Rubio, who is currently in Paris, informed the Russian side…

30 November 2022

In the first installment of the Two Shores Dialogue series, two journalists — Ma Jiaying from China and Héribert Adjovi from Africa — exchange insights on the pressing issues of our time: rising trade protectionism, the shifting global order, and the long-term consequences of tariff wars. Reflecting on the legacy of the Bandung Conference, they advocate for renewed solidarity among the Global South, grounded in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. A powerful, thoughtful dialogue that bridges continents and visions.

Beyond the tariff crisis, it’s time to take a fair look at globalisation… 70 years after the Bandung Conference

Share this story

Share this story‘A LOOK FROM BOTH SIDES’ is first and foremost an interesting Dialogue between two Friends, two eminent Journalists and a crossed vision of two media professionals, one Chinese and the other African (Beninese)…

30 November 2022

South-Africas-Government-of-Natiomall-Unity-on-the-brink-of-collapse-Picture-credit-Malawi-24.

THERE’S A SENSE THAT SA’S GNU IS TEETERING ON THE EDGE COLLAPSE

Share this story

Share this storyBy ABBEY MAKOE By all accounts, South Africa’s conundrum that is the Government of National Unity (GNU) will likely fester into a debilitating wound before it gets healed anytime soon. The revelation of…

30 November 2022

The world has now become irreversibly multipolar, a reality America’s ruling elites are refusing to accept.Photo | Mandar Pardika

US-China trade war: Standing up to the playground bully

Share this story

Share this storyToday’s China is not yesterday’s Soviet Union. Nor is Trump’s America the sole superpower. Anyone trying to push back the clock of history will get hurt https://www.newindianexpress.com/author/sudheendra-kulkarni The global tariff ‘war’ unleashed by…

30 November 2022

Panelists speak during the "Critical Raw Materials in the Age of Competition" session held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, Turkiye on April 12, 2025.

Critical raw materials in age of competition discussed at Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Share this story

Share this storyPanel addresses geopolitical, economic, strategic importance of underground resources Sercan Irkin and Zehra Nur Celik  |13.04.2025 – Update : 13.04.2025 ANTALYA, Türkiye The “Critical Raw Materials in the Age of Competition” panel was…

30 November 2022

Related Stories