Kenya Gem and Jewellery Trade Fair

About Kenya Gem and Jewellery Trade Fair Android App

East Africa remains one of the world’s greatest suppliers of gemstones, many of which cannot be found anywhere else.

Kenya’s mineral potential remains largely untapped. There are vast opportunities in mining of new and existing varieties of gemstones for the high international demand. This could be undertaken solely or in partnership with claim holders.
There are also opportunities for investors wishing to carry out gemstone cutting, setting and polishing as well as manufacture of gemstone cutting/polishing machines.

Domestic market consumes less than 10% of the jewellery produced and 50% of the local buyers are tourists while the rest is exported.

Kenya is endowed with the occurrence of various types of minerals. It is one of the countries with major occurrence of a variety of coloured stones.

Some of Kenya’s gemstones and precious minerals consist of the following, among others: Green garnet, Ruby corrondum, Tsavorite, Gold, Ruby, Zoisite. Other kinds of gemstones include amethyst, aquamarine, beryl, peridot, sapphire, tourmaline, various types of garnets (green, red, rose, almandine), zircon etc.

The jewellery sub-sector is much older than the gemstone sub-sector in Kenya. The jewellery trade is over a century old in Kenya. Presently, informal sector operatives carry out the major portion of the trade. Jewellery manufacture is still a cottage industry in Kenya and work is carried out often in small one-room workshops by skilled artists and workers using hand-operated tools. It is not a production line product and each item is priced and worked differently. Most of the products are re-cycled and re-shaped depending on the customer’s requirements and needs

The responsibility of searching for markets rests with the producer and the dealer. The Government only facilitates exports as stipulated in the relevant laws, and participates in promotional conferences and workshops.

Kenya welcomes, promotes and protects private enterprises and offers attractive incentives to investors. The country’s advantages as a location for foreign investment include an abundance of resources, a relatively well-developed infrastructure and pleasant living conditions

The gemstone and Jewellery sub-sector is regulated under the regulated under the Mining ACT of 2016, the Trading in the Unwrought Previous Metals Act Cap 309 and the Diamond Protection Industry Act Cap 310 of the Laws of Kenya.

All un-extracted minerals are the property of the Government according to the Mining Act. Their exploration and exploitation is controlled by the Department of Mines and Geology, which also undertakes geological surveys, geo-scientific research and the general regulation of the mining sector. The department, which falls under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, also grants licenses to miners and prospectors