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TORONTO, ONTARIO- Leaders from across Canada’s cannabis industry are joining forces to participate in Leaf Forward, Canada’s first cannabis industry business accelerator program.
Leaf Forward provides early stage cannabis focused businesses with mentorship, networking, and learning opportunities from successful leaders who have taken ideas and turned them into reality. Leaf Forward’s first founders class will spend a full day with entrepreneurs, industry experts, and senior managers who advise on everything from law and finance to marketing and sales, preparing founders to pitch investors, raise money and take their business to the next level.
“As the cannabis industry matures, innovative ancillary products and services will be needed to add value across the supply chain, touching everything from increasing a Licensed Producer’s yield, to improving ease of use for patients,” said John Prentice, Founder and CEO of Ample Organics, Canada’s leading seed to sale software provider and Leaf Forward Mentor, “I’m looking forward to see what’s in store as our industry moves out of its infancy.”
Industry leaders agree, the ancillary cannabis industry is in need of acceleration ahead of legalization. Mike Lickver, Cannabis Wheaton’s Executive Vice President of Strategy and Leaf Forward Mentor said “In the run up to legal adult recreational use Canada has some catching up to do with legal U.S. jurisdictions in terms of ancillary and value added products and services. Leaf Forward is a great opportunity to spur this sector, providing founders the opportunity to better understand core industry needs and non-cannabis focused businesses the knowledge to make a successful pivot.”
The Leaf Forward program will build on the success of Leaf, Canada Largest Cannabis Industry Meetup, with monthly events in Toronto and Calgary, to nourish the ecosystem of cannabis insiders and entrepreneurs by sharing institutional knowledge and support to the next wave of cannabis focused start-ups.
“Since the launch of the Leaf meetups in January we’ve seen a strong demand for learning and networking opportunities within the cannabis industry. Leaf Forward allows us to build on that success, providing value to our community, while adding value to the industry,” said Alex Blumenstein, Founder of Leaf Forward, “we’re strengthening the ecosystem and infrastructure all industries needs as they grow and mature. I encourage anyone working on something cool or innovative, here in Canada, or abroad wanting to do business in Canada, to apply.”
Leaf Forward’s first founders class will be held in September, applications are open now and due by August 31st. To apply visit www.leafforward.org.
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