Akanda Secures Foothold in German Market; Will Source from Portugal, Not Lesotho
Cannabiz Africa
14 August 2022 at 12:00:00
Nasdaq-listed Akanda has moved quickly to reduce its dependence on Lesotho, where its subsidiary Bophelo has been liquidated and is subject to court action. Akanda has secured a strong foothold in the German cannabis market and will supply dried flower from its new Portuguese grow op, Holigen.
Akanda is to supply the German pharmaceutical group, Cansativa GmbH, with at least 1 000 kg of dried flower in the next 12 months. The source will be Akanda’s recently-acquired subsidiary, Holigen, which as an EU-GMP certified indoor cultivation facility at Sintra. In terms of the deal, announced on 9 August 2022, Akanda will supply German pharmacies with two novel cannabis strains.
Akanda CEO Tej Virk said the deal was one of the most far-reaching European cannabis agreements to date and was the most significant deal that Akanda had done to date. The deal is also significant in that it reduces Akanda's dependence on it's Lesotho subsidiary, Bophelo Wellness and Sciences, which was put into liquidation after a boardroom drama in which former executive chairperson Louise Mojela was summararilly dismissed in June 2022. Virk had indicated earlier that in the event of not being able to rescue Bophelo, ditching Africa altogether could benefit Akanda's bottom line.
Virk, said “Our award-winning, purpose-built indoor cultivation facility is the only one of its kind in Portugal capable of producing EU-GMP medical cannabis that matches adult-use grades available in North America. It has both the quality and scalability to meet the increasing demand for medicinal cannabis in fast-growing markets such as Germany. We are excited to be working with Cannativa Group to bring some of our best strains to Germany via their platform.
Benedikt Sons, Cansativa Group co-founder and CEO said “the agreement allows us to introduce two novel medicinal cannabis flowers to the German market. This gives patients access to an additional provider with a new and innovative range of medical products. This exciting cooperation is a further step towards improving product diversity and security of supply on the German market. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Akanda, to provide doctors, pharmacies and patients with access to an extensive medical product portfolio and to help improve the quality of life with the help of medical cannabis”.
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