Wellness and medicinal hemp agro-processing company OGH Jamaica Limited has received a big boost to its expansion plans, securing working capital investment of US$1 million (approximately J$132 million) through the fund-raising effort of stock and investment firm, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL).

SSL, which secured the funding from a group of investors, declares that the investor uptake for OGH demonstrates that “there is a strong platform for shrewd investment amid the challenges of the current economic climate.”

The injection of capital will help OGH expand its processing capabilities and increase its production level of CBD products, which will be both exported and sold locally on the island.

The Trelawny-based company operates one of the largest craft medicinal hemp farms spanning 635 acres on the former Long Pond Estate in Trelawny. OGH will be the first company on the island to manufacture and export local organic CBD oil.

OGH’s THC-free broad CDB oils goes to market in June. THC-free products are derived from non-GMO industrial hemp grown with natural farming practices. CBD is the non-psychoactive medicinal compound found in hemp plants that is known to provide a wide and diverse variety of wellness benefits.

BANKABLE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY PRODUCED CBD

SSL Group CEO Zachary Harding notes that the success in raising the capital for OGH is due to the investment and brokerage firm’s laser focus on projects, which adds the most value during uncertain times.

According to Harding, “during this time when the entire world is focused on health, we see bankable potential for locally produced CBD. OGH’s operation not only gives Jamaica solid footing in international CBD oil and nutraceutical manufacture, it also potentially creates dozens of new jobs at their cutting-edge facility.”

He adds that SSL continues to proactively lead on opportunities which provide sustainable wealth for our investors, and the wider community.

EXPANSION DESPITE COVID-19

For his part, president and co-founder of OGH, Robert Weinstein, says, “This working capital came at an opportune time for our business. As operations around the world have been hit by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, we are pressing ahead. We are maintaining all safety standards to plant, harvest and manufacture in order to keep the wheels of our operations turning and our local Jamaican employees working.”

He points out that all of OGH operations from planting to extraction and bottling will happen in Jamaica. Weinstein thanked the team at SSL for their work in raising the capital amidst the current global economic climate.

Harding emphasised that SSL is looking beyond the COVID-19 challenges and “we see a clear path for the national economy to cut through to the other side of this pandemic. Industries once viewed as non-traditional investments have ripened into game-changers, and institutions will thrive or fall based on their ability to adapt to these shifts. Our team has the foresight to see these opportunities and have become experts in understanding this new wave of wealth creation for Jamaicans.”

In keeping with its commitment to Jamaica and its people, OGH recently donated 270 gallons of organic non-denatured alcohol to the National Health Fund to produce hand sanitisers for Jamaican health care workers in the fight against COVID-19.

CDB OILS MARKET GROWING

The global CBD market, even with the current pandemic, is expected to exceed US$20 billion by 2025. In addition to its THC-free broad-spectrum distillates, OGH will be unveiling its own suite of wellness products later this year.

Harding shares that the health and wellness sector is seeing a steady sales increase during the current health crisis. This month The Guardian, out of the UK, recently reported an 11 per cent hike in the price of cough medicine online, as the international medical community races toward a vaccine for COVID-19.