Andre Bothma, MG Health Chief Executive Officer

MEDIA FACT SHEET: MG HEALTH

What is MG Health?

• Looking to compete on a world stage, MG Health is an African company licensed to cultivate and manufacture pharmaceutical grade cannabis extracts and products for the emerging medical cannabis industry.

Who founded MG Health?

• Andre J. Bothma, from Lesotho, started the company. He started the business with an ambitious dream - to show that Africa can stand on the world stage able to build and create world class cannabis facilities and products.
• MG Health first received a business license to operate as a vertically integrated producer of medicinal cannabis flower and extracts in 2017. Its manufacturing standards ensure full control and allow the implementation of their “Plant to Patient” philosophy.

When was MG Health founded?

• In early 2017, MG Health Lesotho (formerly Medigrow) was granted a license to operate in Lesotho.

Where is MG Health based?

• Situated in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked country encircled by South Africa, MG Health is situated 2 hours from the capital city, Maseru. The company’s operations are at 2000 metres above sea level in a pristine mountainous environment 10 kilometres from the Mohale Dam and isolated from any form of commercial agriculture. MG Health has also developed a world class analytical laboratory - Lucan Labs, based in Maseru.

What makes this the ideal site for medical cannabis cultivation?

• The site is ideal in terms of the amount of sunlight it receives, the dry air, and access to very clean, pure water from the Senqunyane River (“Little Orange River” in Sesotho). The high altitude keeps insects away and the pristine mountain environment is situated hundreds of kilometres away from any sort of industrial agriculture.
• This is important as cannabis is a highly absorbent plant, meaning that airborne pesticides from nearby farming, or heavy metals and contaminants in the air from industrial manufacturing or factories, would be absorbed and show up in the patient’s medicine whether in oil form or in flower form. Located near the village of Marakabei, the site was chosen for its isolation, as well as the available water and power supply.

How is medical cannabis grown?

• Cultivation takes place in “Dutch Controlled Environment Greenhouses” where the internal climate, temperature, humidity and lighting is controlled for optimal flower production and consistent, year-round harvests.

How big is the cultivation area?

• The business is currently at pilot scale with a cultivation site of 5 000m² under controlled greenhouse. The next phase is expansion, with serviced land available to immediately expand cultivation by 10 000m², and another 5 000m² thereafter.
• With a total available space to expand to about 100 000m² of land under grow, the current production and extraction facility (2 000m²) has been set up to handle large-scale production as market demand grows.

How has MG Health contributed to community development for the Marakabei village and the country of Lesotho as a whole?

• Close to 300 permanent jobs have been created, with potential to significantly increase employment at full production. Most employees are from the surrounding communities, and many have been upskilled and trained with educational programmes.
• Working with the community, MG Health has executed numerous infrastructure projects for the benefit of the local villages. These include ablution, clean water supply and refuse collection facilities.
• MG Health installed IT infrastructure in the local schools, and its teaching staff run a winter tutorial programme for local school children, to assist with their preparation for final year exams. Healthcare services are provided for employees and community members, including the staffing of a clinic with trained medical practitioners. A range of highly skilled job opportunities has been created for people living in a remote rural environment.
• MG Health believes in the philosophy of developing opportunities for inter-generational wealth in the community and as a result has not acquired the community’s land but have leased it from the various small holding owners, the result being that the land remains unencumbered within the family and can continue to generate long term revenue.

How has MG Health created opportunities for local entrepreneurship?

• Supporting a large staffing compliment in a remote, undeveloped part of Lesotho offers up numerous business opportunities for local entrepreneurs. Opportunities include the supply of vegetables and agricultural products, the provision of meals (MG Health serves at least one meal per employee per day), transport, maintenance, education and training.
• What’s more, employees from outside the area will need to find accommodation in the area and MG Health has initiated the design of a village development plan. Based on this development plan, existing property owners will be invited to build accommodation for our growing staff complement.
• The company’s rent deduction scheme will ensure that landlords are paid the rentals as contracted with the tenants. This secure income stream will be used to arrange mortgage finance for these build-to-rent accommodation units. Local property and landowners are likely, for the first time, to experience real economic development and inter-generational wealth creation.

For more information, visit www.mghealth.com.