Hikurangi cannabis company still seeking investors

Hikurangi Cannabis, according to its website, is still looking for investors. Its parent company, Hikrangi Investments, also consider investments for its other businesses that involve health products, bioactive, housing, organic food, carbon farming and more.

The first company to get a license to grow medical cannabis

It was the first company to get a license to cultivate medical cannabis plants in New Zealand. Along with the license is an authorization to cultivate cannabis strains that can be used in medicines.

According to the company’s co-founder Manu Caddie, the company submitted the paperwork for the license back in April. She also said, “We are excited to be able to base this new industry in our community, a rural region that desperately needs new economic development opportunities. Without the strong local support believing in this goal it would not have been possible.”

Hikurangi has secured a $160 million agreement with Rhizo Sciences. The company will supply Rhizo Sciences with the agreed amount over the next three years. Rhizo Sciences is a marijuana consulting services company based in Seattle that specializes in CO2 extraction and turnkey laboratories.

This month, the Hikurangi Group Community held a roadshow that started in Te Araroa, where the Hikurangi Cannabis Company provided an overview of its pharmaceutical facility in Ruatoria.

PledgeMe website crashed

Back in May this year, Hikurangi started a campaign through PledgeMe, according to Stuff.co.nz. The company initially wanted to raise $1 million to finance its clinical trials for medical cannabis. The campaign made a lot of noise as it caused the crowdfunding site to crash.

Hikurangi Enterprise’s campaign was due to launch on May 8. Even so, the PledgeMe’s platform attracted many potential investors before the campaign even started. This caused a program failure that prevented users from investing in the campaign.

The following day, the campaign was able to go live, with more than 3,000 potential investors signing up immediately. The campaign was able to reach its $2 million cap within 17 minutes, since, for a minimum investment amount of $50, you can be an investor for Hikurangi Enterprise.

However, the crowdfunding platform crashed again that day, which hindered more users from buying shares for the second time.

The campaign then closed on the morning of May 10

Because of the recurring program failures, PledgeMe Chief Executive Anna Guenther made a public apology through the company’s blog. Guenther also said that PledgeMe’s platform upgraded Amazon Web Services’ cloud server to accommodate large campaigns.

Community members in Australia’s East Coast region were offered $1 shares in a private round. The company chose the region because it is where its hemp plantation is placed.

Hikurangi originally planned to raise $4 million from institutional members, then another $2 million from the crowdfunding campaign. Apart from funding clinical trials, the company is also planning to build a processing facility that would comply with pharmaceutical standards. The company’s hemp cultivation operations in Ruatoria will also benefit from the funds.

Even though the crowdfunding campaign at PledgeMe already ended, Hikurangi is still accepting investors through its website.

Cannabis legislation in New Zealand

Except for medicinal purposes, cannabis use is still illegal in New Zealand. The medicine, however, should have the Ministry of Health’s approval.

The popularity of Hikurangi’s campaign may have been influenced by the news that the New Zealand government is thinking about legalizing recreational cannabis in 2019 or 2020.

(Featured Image by Austin Distel)