Next week, the CannaConnect conference, part of the PharmaConnect Africa environment, returns to Johannesburg, South Africa, and cannabis is once again high on the agenda. Originally launched in 2017 to connect players in the pharmaceutical sector across the continent, PharmaConnect has grown into a cross-industry, policy-meets-practice event with a distinctly academic backbone.
"We started this as a nonprofit initiative to bridge gaps in the pharma industry," says Professor David Katerere of Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, one of the event's organizers. "We've always had regulators, industry, policymakers, and patient groups in the room. It's not just a trade show, it's a conversation."
That conversation began to include cannabis back in 2018, when the first side event was held in Johannesburg. "At that point, the industry in South Africa was just beginning to open up," David explains. "We had speakers from Lesotho and the South African regulators. Things weren't clear yet, but it was important to get everyone talking."
And talk they did, until the pandemic shut things down. During the COVID years, PharmaConnect pivoted to Connect Conversations Africa, a virtual forum that kept dialogue alive. When physical events resumed in 2023, the spotlight landed squarely on cannabis at the Zambia edition. What was meant to be a side topic turned into a full-blown roundtable featuring regulators from across Southern Africa.
"What we realized," says David, "was that cannabis can't be tackled in isolation by each country. There's a need for harmonized protocols: how we grow, how we test, how we move material across borders. Some countries grow but don't have the infrastructure for quality control or extraction. South Africa does. So how do we work together?"
Harmonizing cannabis standards
That question has become the cornerstone of this year's event, which will take place on May 27-28. The CannaConnect 2025, program is divided into two main themes: medical cannabis and industrial hemp.
Day 1 dives into medical cannabis, with presentations on regional regulation, clinical research, and a couple of real-world case studies from local clinicians. A key panel will focus on cross-border collaboration and standardization. "We're aiming for a common understanding," David says. "It's not just about national progress; it's about building a regional pharmaceutical value chain."
Day 2 shifts to industrial hemp. Expect discussions on seed supply, innovation across the region, and, of course, standards. An exhibition will showcase quality control solutions and, in a refreshing twist, feature research from university students. "We're the only university in the region working across the whole spectrum, from crop science to product formulation," says David. "This is a professional B2B event, but we want to give research a seat at the table."
With exhibitors and a strong academic presence, this year's CannaConnect is aiming for substance. Cannabis in Africa remains a patchwork of policies and opportunities. Whether the conversation in Pretoria helps stitch that together remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: if the region is serious about cannabis, it needs to start thinking regionally.
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