Since the legalisation at the end of last year, the cannabis industry has proved to be an emerging market, giving South Africa the opportunity to run with the big dogs in this exciting new growth sector. In his Budget Speech Finance Minister Tito Mboweni even went so far as to say that policy changes in the industry could result in a potential source of revenue for South Africa.
With StatsSA recently revealing that unemployment is not on the decline, it certainly is an opportune time to unlock the economic benefits, as well as the resulting job creation opportunities, that this industry presents.
According to the New Frontier Data report, the annual cannabis consumption rate in Africa is 11.4 percent while the global average is only 6 percent, which bodes well for one of their sustainable development goals, which is to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.
The cannabis industry has the potential to create work opportunities for both low-skilled and high-skilled workers, it said, due to the fact that cannabis businesses will require management staff, administrative staff, manufacturing staff, agricultural operations and retail operations. In the US, 321744 jobs were created in the cannabis industry, and 35 percent were in retail operations.