About us

Ethiopian opal – directly from origin – building local value and capacity

ethiOpal is your new, local source for the principal Ethiopian gemstone! We are based in Ethiopia and have two decades of experience in working with and trading of Ethiopian opal. We are close to the mining communities, use and build local expertise, create decent jobs, and promote the beauty and value of Ethiopian opal.

We supply stone enthusiast, jewellers and gemstone traders world-wide from our trading hub in Germany. Our offer comprises stones (individual and lots), polished and calibrated in our lapidary, as well as lots of semi-cut stones and rough, including wholesale.

Today, more than 90% of Ethiopian opals are still exported as uncut rough. Ethiopal’s mission is to change that. This means investing in gradually building skills, jobs, and value creation in Ethiopia.

Yitbarek Nega has over 20 years of experience in the international gemstone trade, which he began in the United Kingdom. In 2022, he returned to Ethiopia with a clear vision: to build local expertise and processing capacity that generates real value for mining communities and everybody else in the gemstone value chain.

In 2023, Yitbarek launched EGC Global Training (www.egcglobaltraining.com), Ethiopia’s first government-certified gemology training center, to professionalize the sector from the ground up. In 2024, he was joined by Markus Koerner, a long-time development expert and close friend of Ethiopia.

Beyond our current lapidary and training center, we are now building a gemstone laboratory that will open in September 2025.