20 Jul South Africa’s first cannabis fund launches on EasyEquities
- South Africa’s first cannabis fund, SilverLeaf Investments, has launched its initial public offering through the EasyEquities investment platform.
- The venture capital company founded in early 2021 has already invested in a local medicinal cannabis facility and wants to be involved across all aspects of South Africa’s cannabis value chain.
- According to EasyEquities, the opening date of offer for SilverLeaf was on Thursday, 14 July 2022 and the closing date of offer is 23:59 on Thursday, 4 August.
- SilverLeaf Investments is trying to raise a total equity amount of R7,000,000 and a minimum of R500,000.
South Africa’s first cannabis fund has launched its initial public offering (IPO) through the EasyEquities investment platform.
SilverLeaf Investments, a venture capital company, founded in early 2021, is focused on South Africa’s rapidly growing commercial cannabis and hemp industry. The SilverLead fund made its first investment in a local medicinal cannabis facility shortly after launching and aims to be involved across all aspects of South Africa’s cannabis value chain through cultivation, testing, manufacturing, distribution, and services.
The fund comes at an exciting time for cannabis in South Africa. Realising the industrial potential of the plant, South Africa’s government is actively working on the Cannabis Master Plan to unlock R28 billion in added economic value and create 25,000 direct jobs.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his latest State of the Nation Address, said that the “hemp and cannabis sector has the potential to create more than 130,00 new jobs” and committed to reviewing “policy and regulatory framework for industrial hemp and cannabis to realise the huge potential for investment and job creation”.
Government’s undertakings coincide with a boom of commercial cannabis ventures, from members-only clubs to a JSE-listed holding company, Labat Africa, investing heavily in harvest destined for the export market.
It’s against this backdrop that SilverLeaf Investments appears as EasyEquities’ newest listing.
“SilverLeaf Investments Limited is a first of its kind cannabis fund,” notes EasyEquities, citing the SilverLeaf prospectus. “As such, SilverLeaf Investments Limited is able to provide investors with an opportunity to become part of this high-growth, lucrative and global market that is very ‘on trend’.”
“The long-term vision for SilverLeaf Investments Limited is to be recognised as a leading investment fund in the cannabis and hemp industries while providing attractive returns for investors.”
According to the important dates listed by EasyEquities, which the investment platform notes “are subject to change”, the opening date of offer for SilverLeaf was on Thursday, 14 July 2022, and the closing date of offer is 23:59 on Thursday, 4 August 2022.
Clifford Giesenow, a non-executive director of SilverLeaf Investments, announced the launch on EasyEquities via LinkedIn on Friday, 15 July.
“Silverleaf shares are available on EasyEquities under the new listings option in the EasyEquities app. Once the IPO is complete, shares will appear in your holdings under overview,” notes the investment platform’s blog.
“Per the prospectus, one share costs R1,000, however, for this exclusive Easy Equities IPO, you can invest any amount you wish – for as little as R1 you can become a shareholder. The IPO has a lock-in period of 5 years, whereby, if an investor withdraws within the 5-year term, there will be a 20% penalty on the amount they invested. This is only if they withdraw within the 5 years.”
SilverLeaf’s prospectus notes that it “seeks to raise a total equity amount of R7,000,000 and a minimum of R500,000.”
