California has yet another chance to improve its social equity structure. Cannabis wholesale platform Nabis is teaming up with California’s Equity Trade Network to help brands enter the state market and add scalability without extra costs. The partnership with Equity Trade Network, which aims to nurture, spotlight, and promote cannabis businesses run by people impacted by the War on Drugs, will help brands easily connect with dispensaries eager to support social equity companies.
“Logistics continue to serve as a bottleneck for brands, especially for small-business owners who lack access to private capital and other financial resources. With our extensive fulfillment footprint and wealth of data insights, Nabis can help Equity Trade Network businesses focus on vital efforts, like brand innovation, without getting bogged down by distribution challenges,” said Jun S. Lee, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Nabis.
The Equity Trade Network also gives a federally-registered certification mark to brands with at least 50 percent ownership stake of people disproportionately impacted by systemic policies. Qualified brands must demonstrate how their business model and network helps to uplift the larger goal of racial equity and diversity in the cannabis industry. SF Roots, KGB Reserve, Headstash, and several others are among the certified brands.
“When people buy these brands, they are supporting reinvestment into local communities and businesses, and voting with their dollars,” said Ramon Garcia, co-founder of Equity Trade Network. “This collaboration puts wind under the sails of so many outstanding and driven entrepreneurs from marginalized communities who still struggle due to failed policies that have stifled growth and success for too long.”
