Citylife Business

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE BUSINESS –Editor-IN-Chief

In a clear sign that the business of cannabis is increasingly becoming a formal serious business to watch out for opportunities in the near future, the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science – GIBS has partnered with Cheeba Cannabis Academy Campus, Rivonia,  to deliver a course in cannabis. This announcement was made this week by Cheeba Academy.

This sweet news to the cannabis sector that has been in frustration for quite a long time now because of the slow pace the government seems to be moving in creating a new legal framework for the multi-billion Rand industry.

Government for quite sometime has been in a log-jam when it comes to clearing legal hurdles to open the way forward for entrepreneurs, including rural farms to participate legally in the industry that for years has been operating outside the law.

However with countries throughout the world having embraced the health and medicinal value of the cannabis plant, the South African government announced in recent years that there was a need to legalise the commercial production of cannabis and hemp in the country and therefore create employment and business opportunities in the sector. The legal framework development by policy makers however has been moving at a snail’s pace, frustrating investment in the sector.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has been quoted on several occasions saysing that government is working towards legal reform to open participation by especially farmers in the hemp and cannabis sector in the country.

However this is the first time that a major public university has designed a course to catter for the =knowledge and skills needs for the cannabis sector.

“We are proud to have partnered with Africa’s leading business school, Gordon Institute of Business Science – GIBS (University of Pretoria), to bring this course to the industry.

The Business of Cannabis short course focuses on the Cannabis and Hemp ecosystem and value chain and the development of entrepreneurial thinking and skills. The course will give attendees access to some of the sharpest and most experienced minds in the African Cannabis and Hemp Industry and also provide an international perspective on the global opportunity for African Cannabis. Students will be exposed to the three verticals that make up the Cannabis and Hemp industry supply and value chain while developing entrepreneurial skills that can be honed to navigate this and other dynamic sunrise industries,” says Cheeba Academy in a statement

As the Cannabis and Hemp industry emerges and governments open up legislation, the African Cannabis and Hemp industry is becoming an attractive business proposition for entrepreneurs, SMMEs, investors, health and wellness practitioners and agricultural specialists.
Considering the economic challenges our continent faces, sunrise industries are more important than ever before if we are to bolster our economies and drive job creation. The Cannabis and Hemp industry is well placed to become a seismic contributor towards this. The understanding and skills learned in this course can encourage research into, and entrepreneurial thinking about similar sunrise opportunities. For these industries to realize their full potential, seasoned business minds and professionals are needed.
The course will be instructor led via Zoom. Live session recordings, PowerPoint decks with notes and a resource pack of curated videos, reports, research articles, case studies and more will be shared with the students after each class. An assignment, an Action Learning Project (ALP), will be submitted for marking at the end of the course and will comprise of a Cannabis or Hemp industry related business pitch deck. Guidelines and a pitch deck template for the ALP will be provided at the start of the course.

An online Community Zone will be set up where attendees can network, support each other’s learning process and share knowledge and experience. 

The course ends with a 2 day industry immersion in Johannesburg where you will visit a number of businesses operating in the industry including a licensed Cannabis farm.  

LANGUAGE:
English

START DATE:Tuesday, 6th July 2023

DELIVERY METHOD:
Online via Zoom:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm – 8:30pm
Immersion in person:
Cheeba Cannabis Academy Campus, Rivonia, Johannesburg / Visit to a number of Cannabis businesses 
Friday, 18 August and Saturday, 19 August 2023 from 9am – 5pm 
COST:
R14,250 per person
Bring a friend and get a 10% discount