Interview
By Dimeji Akinloye
How 30-Year-Old South African Became a Medical Cannabis Entrepreneur After Losing his Mom to Cancer
G
oitse Konopi’s life’s mission is to make quality medicinal cannabis accessible to all, though that was not his childhood dream. At 19, soon after school, he was already working with GovChat, a government-affiliated tech company in South Africa, where he later became the chief data officer. He was part of the teams in the Presidency that developed the National Development Plan and Vision 2030 for the country. Everything looked good, career-wise, until 2013 when his health-conscious mother was down with cancer and eventually passed away. Goitse was determined to help other cancer patients stay alive and also beat other ailments. He believes the solution lay in Cannabis. Therefore, he invested
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all his savings, together with other peoples funds, in his startup.
In 2014, he founded South Grown, a cannabis company that scientifically cultivates, processes and manufactures cannabis-based products. In this interview with Business Elites Africa, Goitse elucidates his mission and his strategy to succeed in this highly regulated industry. You started your company 4 years before Cannabis was legalized for private use in South Africa, why?
It was due to my mother’s terminal illness. She was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2013. At that time, her oncologist suggested that we tried cannabis oil to supplement her treatment plan. All the products
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