Questions are being raised about the structure and ownership of Botswana’s first licensed hemp and medical cannabis producer after a Sweden-linked company announced it had secured the country’s inaugural cultivation permit.
Hemp Holding AB, a Stockholm-based firm linked to Hemp Innovations Botswana, recently celebrated the development on its LinkedIn page, describing the licence as a historic milestone for the country.
“Great historic news!” the company said. “Hemp Innovations in Botswana has officially acquired the first-ever license to cultivate both medical cannabis and industrial hemp in Botswana.”
According to the statement, the project aims to position Botswana as a trusted exporter of cannabis products to European and global markets while developing local skills, farmer inclusion and research partnerships.
The company said the permit marks the beginning of “a new regulated industry built on compliance, science, sustainability and international standards such as GACP and EU-GMP.”
According to the statement, the project aims to position Botswana as a trusted exporter of cannabis products to European and global markets while developing local skills, farmer inclusion and research partnerships.
“Our mission is clear: position Botswana as a trusted exporter to the EU and global markets, build local skills, research partnerships, farmer inclusion and job creation, develop high-value medical and industrial hemp supply chains, and attract international capital into a responsible, transparent framework,” the company said.
However, the announcement has sparked debate among African cannabis industry bodies over the risks of foreign dominance in emerging natural-resource sectors.
The African Hemp Consortium acknowledged Botswana’s efforts to establish a regulatory framework for the medicinal and industrial cannabis sector but warned that licence allocations must ensure meaningful local ownership.
“As this sector expands across the continent, licence allocations must prioritise substantive local ownership, governance control, and long-term value retention within African economies,” the consortium said.
The group warned that Africa’s emerging natural-capital industries risk repeating past patterns of resource extraction if external investors dominate governance and value chains.
“Africa’s natural capital industries cannot afford to replicate externally controlled extraction models under the banner of compliance or first-mover positioning,” it said.
The consortium added that regulatory credibility would depend not only on export readiness but also on “who governs the asset, where value accumulates and how domestic institutional capacity is strengthened.”
Responding to the concerns, Hemp Holding AB said the project would include strong local participation.
“We have strong local partners and government bodies as partners and local shareholders in the company,” the firm said. “All employees will be local apart from a few external experts or consultants bringing knowledge to the nation.”
But the debate intensified after the intervention of the African Medicinal Cannabis Council (AMCC), which supported calls for safeguards to ensure that Botswana benefits from the industry.
“Botswana’s land and natural capital must generate durable value for the people of Botswana, not function primarily as upstream supply for externally controlled processing and capital structures,” the council said.
The AMCC also warned that cannabis projects designed mainly to supply foreign markets risk replicating “legacy extraction patterns under a modern compliance framework.”
“Long-term credibility will depend on where governance authority sits, where value is added and whether domestic institutional capacity is materially built and retained within Botswana itself,” the council said.
The consortium reiterated those concerns as it argued that any model relying on Botswana’s land and resources must ensure that value remains within the country.
The consortium reiterated those concerns as it argued that any model relying on Botswana’s land and resources must ensure that value remains within the country.
“Without them, the products and the profits could not exist,” the group said. “Africa’s natural capital must be developed to retain value in-country and benefit the people whose land and resources underpin the industry.”
Meanwhile, UK-based research organisation Cannabis Research UK said global evidence shows companies that prioritise export markets over local economic development often struggle to deliver lasting community benefits.
“Research shows that companies prioritising external markets over local governance and value retention often fail to deliver meaningful community or economic benefits,” the organisation said.
Hemp Holding AB responded that it would also supply domestic markets within Botswana’s legal framework.
