The Cannabis Industry Has A Big Problem. Kanye’s Manager Just Joined A Company Fixing It
Just 3% of the cannabis industry’s market share is currently owned by Black people. Village is a national conglomerate fighting for equity for Black-owned brands, and Kanye West’s manager, John Monopoly, just joined the team.
Former NBA player Al Harrington and Dan Pettigrew co-founded Village two years ago when they realized there was a lack of Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color in the cannabis space.
“We eventually see our company as being, almost, a distributor throughout this space. And we want to be able to help as many people of color be able to enter into the cannabis space and actually be able to be successful at it,” Harrington said.
The lack of racial diversity in the market is often credited to financial barriers to entry. Startup costs to open a dispensary can be hundreds of thousands if not over a million dollars.
But there’s community trauma as well. There can be hesitation and fear around starting a business within an industry that has historically criminalized your community.
“Statistics show that while Black people were nearly four times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, they make up only a small number of those profiting from the multibillion dollar legalized pot industry,” a Wall Street Journal video explains.
In the future, Harrington said Village will also provide educational content since resources on how to jump through all the hoops needed to open a cannabis business are often lacking.
Monopoly, who manages Kanye West, has decades of experience in the music industry. As he joins Village, he is bringing the power of his expertise and connections within music. His vision for Village is to maximize by uniting people from across industries.
“We plan to use all of our skill sets to support each other’s initiatives. With the team’s strong knowledge and expertise in the space coupled with my 30-year-plus career centered in music and culture, we plan to use expertise, influence and access to grow and develop a cannabis brand that will be inclusive and impactful,” Monopoly said in an emailed statement.
“Our plan is two-fold,” Monopoly said. “Firstly, Village is 100% minority-owned. By adding local minorities through partnerships with each individual state we’re in, we will ultimately increase Black ownership in every state where we operate.”
Monopoly said the second part of Village’s strategy “expands beyond ownership directly in Village by affiliating with Black and minority-owned cannabis brands that we can onboard in the states where we own licenses.
Disclaimer: This article is originally published on https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreabossi/2021/09/04/the-cannabis-industry-has-a-big-problem-kanyes-manager-just-joined-a-company-fixing-it/?sh=6eeaf66613bb
