Canna-Q headquarters
Canna-Q, a transformative Lesotho-based medicinal cannabis project is seeking strategic partners in Europe and the United States in the coming months.
The $15m project will be seeking partners interested in offtake and distribution agreements as well as other strategic and funding partnerships.
“Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns, we have seen a significant amount of interest in this project,” says Canna-Q CEO Shabeer Moosa. The company recently hosted a webinar for investors, media and other project partners who are interested in entering one of the top frontier markets.
“Ideally we would like to engage partners in developed markets who are interested in supply agreements from a GMP certified manufacturing facility,” says transaction advisor Zahra Rawjee from Uzenzele.
Lesotho – with its progressive regulatory environment – has positioned itself as a gateway to the African cannabis sector. The country enjoys a high-quality water supply, fertile soil and robust labour market – making it an ideal country to partner with for long-term medicinal cannabis supply.
International investors have begun to recognize the potential in emerging markets with a number of US listed businesses making investments into Lesotho based cannabis projects.
Rawjee notes that while there has been significant interest in the project from both local and international partners, a lack of knowledge around the country and its frontier market status mean that many potential partners are still trying to understand the operating environment.
“Research from Prohibition Partners estimates that the global cannabis industry will be worth over $103bn by 2024 and emerging markets are likely to be major contributors to the global supply chain but there is still limited knowledge around the projects and the licensing in countries like Lesotho – our on-the-ground experience in Lesotho and South Africa means that we can help guide partners as the market evolves,” says Rawjee.
Moosa concludes: “Canna-Q is backed by an experienced project team that understands the local market and we believe we offer access to one of the most exciting frontier cannabis markets in the world.”
