20 Things You Didn’t Know about Akanda Corp
The potential medicinal properties of cannabis and its components have been the subject of heated debate and research for decades. Today, more and more states and countries have made medical marijuana legal owing to the scientific research that proves the effectiveness of cannabis in treating particular medical conditions. Akanda Corp is one of the trending companies that generate medical cannabis for patients. The company focuses on helping patients worldwide by democratizing access to cannabis-based medicine and wellness products. What else do you know about this tremendously growing company? Nothing much? Don’t worry. Here is a review of 20 things you didn’t know about Akanda Corp.
1. Akanda Corp Is a Medical Cannabis and Wellness Company
Akanda is a multinational medical cannabis and wellness company focused on helping people live better lives via enhanced access to high-quality and affordable products. The firm is developing a distribution chain linking patients in Europe and the UK with various products. It integrates scaled production capabilities of Bophelo Bioscience &wellness Pty. Ltd with distribution efficiency of Canmart Ltd and other company partners such as Cullen and Entourage.
2. Akanda Corp was started in 2021
Founded in 2021, the company has been operating for less than two years. However, despite being in operation for a short time, it has developed tremendously in expanding its market in Europe and the UK. Today, Akanda is already making significant international moves as the demand for medical cannabis rises worldwide.
3. Tej Virk Is the Founder of Akanda Corp
Tej Virk is the founder of Akanda Corp in 2021 and currently works as the Chief Executive Officer for Akanda. He established Akanda Corp’s European medical and consumer packaged goods business from scratch during his previous responsibility as the President of Europe at Khiron Life Sciences. Tej Virk began his career in investment banking, working with BMO Capital Markets for 15 years, with the final years concentrating heavily on the cannabis industry. During this time, Tej transacted on more than 100 IPOS and follow-on capital to earn a reputation for the industry-leading successful and innovative execution in the global cannabis space.
4. Akanda Corp Headquarters Are Based in The United Kingdom
The company has its headquarters in New Romney, London, United Kingdom. Akanda Corp, via its subsidiaries, engages in the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of cannabis products in the UK, Lesotho, and internationally. The company plans to supply cannabis flower, medicinal-grade cannabis biomass, and cannabis products to wholesalers and imports and sells medical cannabis products in the United Kingdom.
5. Its Operations Are Based in The Kingdom of Lesotho
The company has its high-quality cannabis products cultivated at the advantaged grow operation in the Kingdom of Lesotho and other trusted third-party brands. In 2017, Lesotho became the first country worldwide to get approved with an administrative license for the commercialized cultivation of marijuana for scientific and medical purposes.
6. Its stock symbol is AKAN. NASDAQ
Akanda Corp is the first Nasdaq listed company with a production-based in Lesotho. Akanda Corp common Shares stock is currently publicly available to buy. According to Finder. Com, Akanda Corp started to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market on Tuesday, 15th March 2022, under the ticker symbol’ AKAN .’ The opening stock price was $30, significantly higher than the proposed stock price of $4. Akanda Corp became the first UK cannabis company operating from Africa to list on the Nasdaq. With the new capital and increased access for patients across Europe and UK, the company is better positioned to pursue its mission to help people lead better lives via affordable and high-quality cannabis products.
7. Akanda Corp Looks to Make Lesotho the Cannabis Capital of Africa.
The company’s roots run deep in the Lesotho kingdom, in the hearts of Basotho. Akanda Corp is committed to revitalizing the region via the empowerment of people via the policy of inclusion and labor of passion. With solid support from the Lesotho government and the community groups, the company seeks to make Lesotho the cannabis capital of Africa. It continues to create sustainable, attractive, and skilled jobs within a socioeconomically disadvantaged country.
8. Akanda Brand Stands for Wellness and Improved Livelihood
The Akanda Corp brand tagline is Grow, Move, Heal. The company is dedicated to offering high-quality medical cannabis products through properly obtained medical cannabis and wellbeing goods. It is an international wellness platform that generates medical cannabis to help patients live better lives. It aims at manufacturing and supply first-class and effective medical cannabis and health products to enhance the life quality for clients in authorized marketplaces.
9. It Has Total Funding Of $1.8M
Akanda raised a total of $1.8m in funding over one round. This was a seed round raised in November 2021. It has gone on to raise more funding through funding rounds. The company plans to use the capital to expand into new categories, improve technology, push the brand message, and strengthen the team.
10. The Company Named Dr. Nayee as The UK Medical Director
Akanda Corp recently announced the appointment of Dr. Sunny Nayee as the new UK medical director. Dr. Nayee is a pain treatment expert with exceptional experience in cannabis therapies and will help in building upon Akanda’s partnership with Cullen Life Sciences, one of the UK’s first fully-digital pain clinics to expand patient access significantly. Dr. Nayee will be responsible for analyzing and enhancing the overall care level offered to medical patients in the UK and facilitating assessment expansion into other worldwide markets. According to The Pharmaceutical Marketing Group, Tej Virk is honored to welcome Dr. Nayee to the Akanda team as the company works in building the first seed-to-patient model, serving medical cannabis patients in Europe and UK.
11. Akanda Corp acquired CanMart and Bophelo from Halo Collective Creating
Akanda Corp ultimately acquired Bophelo Bioscience & Wellness and CanMart from Halo Collective Inc. Halo is also a top cannabis company that extracts, manufactures, and distributes high-quality cannabis oils, flowers, and concentrates. The acquisition of these two is set to help Akanda Corp reach international markets. CanMart is a licensed UK-based distributor and importer that will help the company expand its market in the UK, Europe, and internationally. It is a pharmaceutical importer of medical cannabis products in the UK, supplying and distributing the products to pharmacies and clinics throughout the UK. On the other hand, the Bophelo campus situated in Lesotho operates on 200 hectares, which will help the corporation to utilize the country’s suitable cultivation environments to yield medical cannabis of the highest quality at a modest cost.
12. Akanda Corp Is Driven by Social Good and Sustainability
This medical marijuana company is motivated by social good and sustainability. The cornerstone foundation of the company is its commitment to using its operations as a force for social good and sustainability. Akanda seeks to deliver this aptitude by driving positive change in wellness, empowering people in Lesotho, and uplifting the quality of the employees’ lives and local communities where it operates while restricting its carbon footprint. The company is focused on empowering and improving the lives of the youth, women, and vulnerable individuals via job creation, trained workforces, and imparting self-reliance. It claims to maintain a perfect ratio of foreigners and local employees and ensures that they get attractive benefits, earn a living, and attractive benefits.
13. Akanda Partners With Trusted Brands to Produce High-Quality Products
Akanda Corp seeks to meet the medical marijuana demands of patients with various products from licensed, owned, and thirty-party brands. It partners with credible brands to develop an end-to-end supply chain platform to distribute quality medical treatment and individual choice to patients in the UK and internationally. Bophela has a convenient partnership with DNA Genetics, a top developer of high-quality seeds through a responsible, professional, and technical approach. On the other hand, CanMart has successfully distributed and imported into the UK multiple third-party brands.
14. The Company Is Focused on Achieving A 100,000 Square Feet Cravo Green Houses
Through the Lesotho-based Bophelo, Akanda is focused on having a vast production capacity of around 200 hectares. Bophelo operates in the Kingdom of Lesotho and concentrates on the production and cultivation of medical cannabis products to export internationally. By October, it is currently focusing on building out 40,000 square feet of Cravo Green Houses and an additional 60,000 square feet of the Cravo Green Houses at the end of the year. Bophelo is also working on completing the construction of a small extraction facility to do training of the local personnel in the handling of flammable liquids such as ethanol and alcohol and explosive gases such as propane and butane. According to NewsBreak, this London-based company aims to supply medical cannabis products to wholesalers in international legal markets.
15. Accomplished Leadership Team with Louisa Mojela
Akanda Corp has a team of accomplished leadership led by the CEO, Tej Virk. Joining the experienced CEO is Louisa Mojela, the executive chairman of Akanda. Louisa is among the most influential and successful business leaders in southern Africa, hailing from Mafeteng, Lesotho, where the operations of Bophela are located. Having already received several accolades for her leadership, she will focus on several social development initiatives in Lesotho that go hand in hand with the Sustainable Development Goals of the Lesotho government.
16. Akanda Corp Has Appointed a Lead Independent Director and Director
Akanda has appointed Phillip van den Berg as the Director of the company and Charles Kie as Lead Independent Director. Van den Berg is the current Director and CFO of Halo and will continue in the position while taking extra board responsibilities at Akanda, given his many years of research in finance. Kie is the former MD and CEO of Ecobank Nigeria and the founder and CEO of the New African Capital Partners. He will hence bring immense expertise in finances and operations to Akanda.
17. Boustead Securities Is Akanda Corp’s Financial Advisor
Shortly after starting its operations, Akanda Corp engaged Boustead Securities, LLC and hired them as their financial advisor to help explore their acquisition and financial opportunities in its mission of scaling up cultivation assets. The banking firm advises clients on raising capital, acquisitions, mergers, and restructuring. It’s no surprise that Akanda is making big moves in the cannabis market so soon.
18. The Company Cultivates Strains with THC Levels Of 20% And Above
Akanda Corp, through Bophelo, has already started cultivating cannabis that will soon be manufactured into several medical cannabis products such as oils, dried flowers, and other concentrates with superior genetics compared to many other universal cannabis cultivators. In the meantime, the company has consistently produced high THC levels of more than twenty percent across different strains, most under license from DNA in California.
19. Akanda Corp Announced Closure Of The Initial Public Offering
According to Yahoo Finance, on 18th March 2022, Akanda declared the closure of the initial public offering of four million common shares at the price of $4 for every share to the public. Hence, the company got gross proceeds of $16 million before deduction of the underwriting commissions, discounts, and other expenses. They intend to utilize the proceeds for plant and equipment, property, working capital, operations, and other company purposes.
20. Akanda Corps Aims to Be the World’s Leading Platform for Medical Cannabis
The mission of Akanda Corps is to become the world’s leading platform for medical cannabis and wellness products. Akanda envisions creating and connecting the main medical cannabis cultivation zone on the planet with patients in fast-growing and extensive international markets. According to HALO, Tej Virk states that Akanda has high potential to be a tremendous international medical cannabis company, producing high quality and ethically obtained cannabis at scale, leveraging a reliable brand at the lowest cost.
Bottom Line
We hope you now know lots of facts that you didn’t know about Akanda Corp. The company continues to work on its progress to become the most reliable company for offering first-rate and properly obtained medical cannabis for all patients worldwide. Through the licensing and partnership agreements with some of the leading award-winning seed producers, Bophelo and OG DNA Genetics, Akanda Corp will provide a low-cost entry to the African continent and access to global markets. For any questions or additional details, feel free to comment below.