Cannabis and Hemp Innovation Centre Extends Business Smarts from Vegreville

Cannabis and Hemp Innovation Centre Extends Business Smarts from Vegreville

Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser

Amidst the newborn hustle and bustle of the hemp and cannabis industries in Canada over the past year, there are a few visionaries at the forefront of making sure new businesses have access to business principles.

One such entrepreneur, Travis Dahl of the Cannabis and Hemp Innovation Centre Inc. (CHIC Inc.)says he is excited to announce the launch of their “hub for hemp and cannabis entrepreneurs” in Vegreville. “There are a lot of people who are out there with great ideas who just might not have the business experience to make them successful,” explained Dahl. “So, we’re partnering with those businesses to help them build the models and get the funds they need to make it happen. Matching them with different experts to give them good connections in the industry.”

The business found it’s ideal home in the building which formerly housed Vegreville’s Case Processing Centre until 2018’s relocation. Dahl further explained that, as a Vegreville native, the sight of the building standing there empty was cause for quick action to be taken.

“It was important that it be here. The immigration centre moved out and we had a big empty building in town that was, in a lot of ways, a big economic driver here, so we were figuring what to do with it.

“After that we started working around different projects, and the topic of cannabis and hemp kept coming up as it was a pretty hot topic last year. One of our team members did a lot of work for government and he’s handled similar projects so he suggested, ‘how about a cannabis centre of excellence?’”

From there, the company grew. So what is a Cannabis and Hemp Innovation Centre? Dahl explained that the necessity for business training in both cannabis and hemp industries is a big driver for their vision.

“Imagine being taken out in a boat to the middle of the ocean, being tossed out, and told, ‘meet you on shore!’ That’s what’s happening with a lot of these businesses in the hemp and cannabis industry. Just because you are good – or even the best – at a certain task or skill doesn’t mean that your business will succeed. There are business fundamentals that are critical to the production of a successful business.”

Through partnership with a brand called THINK, CHIC Inc. uses an accelerator model that’s already been tested in a hemp space. Preliminary testing was done in Drayton Valley. “Our goal will be to get entrepreneurs and industry experts in the same room so that they can take their business and scale it up; making it aggressive, finding good potential companies and turning them into hyperpotential companies.”

The crew of eight core members at CHIC Inc. started setting the ball in motion around fifteen months ago and are currently mid-launch, accepting applications from companies to come through the accelerator program, offering preliminary courses in the hemp space. With a business reach that they are extending to anywhere, they aim to create an attractive place in Vegreville for businesses to start and grow and stay.

“Obviously it doesn’t make sense for everybody to up and move their businesses to Vegreville,” Cahal clarified. “We live in a pretty digitally geographical world, so people are less tied to a place if they have a network there. With businesses that are already well-established in Vegreville (such as Innotech Alberta, ex.) and others who are moving in, Vegreville is a good centre to establish that network in.”