Business Isle of Man, an executive agency of the Department for Enterprise, and the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission hosted a medicinal cannabis networking evening recently.
The event provided more than 70 attendees with an opportunity to learn more about the emerging sector from the various government departments that spearheaded the initiative.
It was also a chance for them to meet like-minded individuals, businesses and investors interested, and operating, in the medicinal cannabis export space.
The Department for Enterprise’s newly appointed Minister for Enterprise, Dr Alex Allinson MHK, opened the event and took the opportunity to converse with attendees which included potential licensees, investors and a number of businesses from the finance sector, who will provide many of the key support services for licence holders.
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Initial demand for licences has been high, with 10 interested parties reviewing a range of licence types since the licence application process opened in June 2021.
The sector is expected to create more than 250 skilled new jobs by 2025, with a potential exchequer benefit of up to £3 million per annum.
Tim Cowsill, head of Business Isle of Man, said: ’The medicinal cannabis export initiative represents the dawn of a new economic sector in the Isle of Man, which will drive high-value economic diversification across existing local sectors, stimulate job and training opportunities for Manx workers and encourage inward investment’.