Anne-Marie Fischer
Earlier this year, MJardin Group, North America’s largest operator of turnkey cannabis facilities, announced the creation of a new company, GrowForce Holdings Inc (“GrowForce”).
GrowForce has a mission to become one of the premium licensed producers (LPs) in Canada, and other federally legal markets worldwide. Shares were offered to all of the securities holders of MJardin after GrowForce completed a private placement financing of its shares.
Within GrowForce’s portfolio in Manitoba and Ontario includes a 120,000 square foot flagship production facility, and it plans to acquire more facilities across Canada. GrowForce is currently headquartered in Toronto.
One important flagship of GrowForce’s work is the opportunities that will be provided to Canada’s First Nations in terms of job creation and retail market development. GrowForce announced that Bridging Finance Inc, an established leader in private debt infrastructure financing to First Nations, has agreed to provide significant project financing for various opportunities that engage the First Nations communities.
“We are pleased to continue our strategic partnerships with MJardin and now GrowForce in Canada, which includes a deeper focus on our collective First Nations strategy of which we are extremely proud to actively support,” said David Sharpe, CEO of Bridging Finance and a member of Tyendinaga First Nation.
As the royal assent approval of Bill C-45 in Canada neared earlier this June, there were significant concerns raised by Canada’s First Nations about the lack of consultation for First Nations in the legal Canadian cannabis space. This partnership moves the country closer to ensuring that First Nations are equally represented in Canada’s implementation of Bill C-45, set for October 17.
Bridging Finance and MJardin have established the Bridging Infrastructure Fund that has a particular focus on private debt financing for infrastructure and consolidation of entities within the cannabis sector. The project has committed over $75 million thus far, with over $60 million of projects in the pipeline.
“We are excited to launch GrowForce into the Canadian market as a fully-financed and proven operator of cannabis assets with a deep bench of strategic and operational talent,” said Rishi Gautam, GrowForce Chair and CEO.
MJardin is planning a reverse take-over of Sumtra Diversified Inc. and expects to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in a few weeks.
