The first country in Africa to regulate medical marijuana has attracted another significant international investor, this time from a large Canadian licensed producer.
Toronto-based Supreme Cannabis will invest 10 million Canadian dollars ($7.7 million) for a 10% stake in Medigrow Lesotho, the companies announced in a news release.
Based in the Kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa, Medigrow is licensed to cultivate medical cannabis and manufacture cannabis oil products.
Medigrow and Supreme expect to export their products to Canada and other international markets.
“The country’s climate, the political and economic environment, and the caliber of the team, made Lesotho a no-brainier for us,” John Fowler, president and CEO of Supreme Pharmaceuticals, told Marijuana Business Daily.
Seattle-based Rhizo Sciences acquired a stake in local licensed producer Medi Kingdom.
Executives expect the country to act as a staging ground for entry into other African markets that offer significantly more potential than Lesotho’s 2.2 million people, including Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
Supreme is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange as FIRE.
Lesotho’s medical cannabis market at a glance:
- The 2008 Drugs of Abuse Act set the stage for the MMJ industry in Lesotho.
- The nation’s medical marijuana industry has taken off only in the past couple of years.
- Attracting capital in Lesotho is one of the largest obstacles for businesses.
- The 2008 law was crafted with exports in mind.
- Although it specifies who can prescribe MMJ and under what conditions, the law lacks details to make it workable.
