An increase in wholesale activity by diamond companies operating in Botswana, such as De Beers’ Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) and state-owned Okavango Diamond Company, drove the nation’s economic growth, explained Keith Jefferis, managing director of local economic consultancy firm Econsult and a former deputy governor of the bank. De Beers’ 2016 rough sales — the vast majority of which came from GSS — jumped 37% to $5.6 billion, while Okavango’s sales leapt 80% to $546.5 million.