Nebert Nyirenda who dumped his job in the Ministry of Finance to grow cannabis says Malawi is losing forex because of its delay in legalising the crop.
Nyirenda was principal secretary in the Ministry of Finance but left the role to achieve his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
He and his colleague Tanya Clarke founded Invegrow Limited in 2013.
“We opted for hemp because it makes business sense and it can address a lot challenges that SDGs are tackling” said Nyirenda.
Invegrow is testing viable provenances and complete trials on industrial hemp in order to cultivate and process for commercial purpose by this year.
Nyirenda explained that industrial hemp could be beneficial to the country’s economy if processed into various products.
“Actually we are losing the value added tax that could be charged on the products that are processed using industrial hemp, we are losing forex, in short we are losing a lot,” He added
Once done with the testing, Invegrow will be breeding cultivars suitable for the tropical region, establish processing facilities and produce Malawian made hemp products.
Invegrow will also be securing international and domestic markets for Malawian help products and attract investment into the industry.
