Wednesday, December 1, 2021 12:17PM IST (6:47AM GMT)
Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO), the first movers in the Industrial & Medical Hemp sector in India confirms that they have entered a Collaboration and Investment Agreement with the founders of Canadian Hemp company – Zenabis.
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India: Canada has the most advanced and robust legalized Medical and Recreational Markets in the world. Canadian Companies have become world leaders in Plant Research, Product Development, Cultivation Techniques, and Consumer Preferences. Unlike the United States, the Canadian Hemp market is Federally Regulated and Legalized.
Eighteen months ago, BOHECO set out to find a Canadian Partner that: Was willing to share its expertise in Product Development and Plant Cultivation
- Was willing to make a sizeable Financial Investment in the organization
- Had pre-existing relationships with emerging European markets; and
- Understood the value of merging modern hemp science with traditional Ayurvedic Practices to build holistic product lines, in turn, improving the well-being of the entire customer base
Based on these criteria, BOHECO has confirmed its venture into an alliance with Zenabis. Mr. Monty Sikka is formerly the Founder and Chairman of Zenabis, which was recently sold to NYSE-listed HEXO Corporation for CAD 235 million. During his tenure as Chairman, Mr. Sikka took Zenabis right from its inception to a Company that produced over 5,000kg of high-grade Hemp. He also aided its growth from 150 employees in 2017 to over 1,000 by 2020 with production facilities in three Provinces and sales contracts in all ten Canadian Provinces.
Mr. Sikka, who was born and raised in India, brings a wealth of experience in transitioning Hemp-based start-ups into full-fledged Entities. He has deep, pre-existing relationships with European Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Companies and has agreed to assist BOHECO in becoming a leading Global player in the health and wellness marketplace of Industrial and Medical Hemp. “It is unique and rare to find someone who has excelled in the legalized North American Hemp market and yet, has a firm understanding of Indian values and the traditional role of Ayurvedic treatments. We are thrilled to be able to utilize Mr. Sikka’s expertise in gaining a foothold for our Products in Canada and Europe while expanding our holistic wellness offerings in India.”, stated BOHECO’s Co-founder and CRO Avnish Pandya.
“The experience that we have gained in Canada will be invaluable to BOHECO. It allows us to offer guidance to Government as it crafts policy. Additionally, we can assist BOHECO in accessing global markets and refining production techniques to meet consumer demand”, added Mr. Sikka.
Also joining BOHECO in an advisory capacity is Mr. Munmohan Sihota. Mr. Sihota was the first Indo-Canadian elected to a Legislature in Canada and the first-ever Indo-Canadian Cabinet Minister. Mr. Sihota has led over a dozen Trade Missions to India during his Cabinet tenure and brings a wealth of experience in regulatory matters. In that regard, Bombay Hemp Company intends to utilize Mr. Sihota’s familiarity with the Canadian legal framework to help frame its presentation to the Indian State and Federal Agencies.
“This Canadian collaboration has the dual advantage of opening a pathway to the global markets whilst using Canadian expertise to enhance our product development in India”, added BOHECO’s Co-Founder & CRO, Avnish Pandya. “This collaboration will accelerate our efforts to become a wholly vertically integrated Company while building a world-class GMP manufacturing and extraction facility.”
“This builds upon our organization’s recent Series A fundraising that added Mr. Achin Kochar of the Vi-John Group, and Mr. Riteesh and Mr. Raghav Mohan Bakshi to our investor pool. It also strengthens the Board of Advisors consisting of Mr. Romesh Bhattacharjee (Former Narcotics Commissioner), Mr. Jason Kothari (Former CEO of Housing.com, Snapdeal, and Freecharge), Mr. Siddarth Pai (Founding partner of 3one4 Capital) Ms. Poonam Kaul (Former Director Marketing at Apple India) and Dr. Suman Sahai (Founder & Chairperson Gene Campaign) amongst others.
With these developments and the ongoing support of our seed investors, Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, and current MD of Sequoia Capital India, Mr. Rajan Anandan amongst others, we firmly believe we have both the team and resources to maintain our position as India’s premium supplier of Medical and Industrial Hemp Products.”, concluded Pandya.
