CEO Leanne Kemp explains how a new WeChat Mini Program pilot shows the commercial draw of transparency in today’s diamond market.
In recent years, the importance of transparency in the diamond industry has continued to grow for two good reasons. The first is sustainability. Open sharing of information along the value chain allows all stakeholders to adhere closer to the aims of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, whether gender equality, decent work and economic growth, or responsible consumption and production.
Secondly, transparency is also the right thing to do from a business perspective. In particular, millennial consumers favour brands that can demonstrate beyond doubt their ethical practices.
The need to satisfy these twin objectives inspired our partnership with ALROSA, the world’s largest diamond producer. Together, we have just announced a new WeChat Mini Program e-commerce pilot aimed at Chinese jewellery retailers. The pilot, enabled by Everledger’s blockchain technology, will allow their customers to purchase diamonds with full transparency of their origin, characteristics and ownership history. That means secure and traceable diamond information (from mine to consumer) at the fingertips of potentially a billion active WeChat users.
The program will be offered as a white label API for jewellery manufacturers and retailers in China who wish to offer consumers more innovative and insightful stories about their products and their brand, and so expand their e-commerce proposition. By providing 100% certainty of a diamond’s origin and journey to the consumer, in an easy-to-experience online platform such as WeChat, we are confident that this innovation will set a new standard when it comes to traceability and responsible business practices.
Only a couple of months ago, Everledger sealed series A investment from Tencent, which develops and operates WeChat. To be deploying a pilot on their ecosystem this quickly reflects the hard work and dedication of everyone in our global team.
The pilot is reviewing participating retailers and jewellery manufacturers. At first, implementation will focus on a B2B audience, and then the solution will be offered to partners for a wider outreach, potentially impacting WeChat’s hundreds of millions of consumers.
The WeChat Mini Program delivers on our scalable vision for more transparent, frictionless, and sustainable value chains, providing a new benchmark for customer focus and transparency in the diamond industry.
