The cannabis industry cannot reach its full potential without women leading the charge as well.

Over the past two years, the U.S. has pulled ahead as one of the most valuable cannabis markets in the world, with projections estimating the U.S. market to be worth over $90 billion by 2026. However, even in this period of remarkable growth, female leadership has dwindled to all-time lows. According to MJBizDaily’s 2021 Women & Minorities in the Cannabis Industry report, female executive representation is down to 22 percent — lower than 36.8 percent in 2019, and well below the national average for mainstream businesses, which stands at roughly 30 percent.

Despite these figures, it’s important to recognize that a number of female leaders are currently at the helm of some of the most influential cannabis companies in the country. By successfully executing growth strategies in a myriad of industry sectors, this dynamic group of women is redefining what good business practices look like and ushering in a new class of female leaders to build an inclusive and sophisticated regulated industry.

Female executives are upping the ante on growth goals.

The small but powerful cannabis investment community is driving growth by providing companies throughout the supply chain with the resources to scale ahead of legalization. Since launching in 2020, Advanced Flower Capital has established itself as a leading provider of institutional loans and as one of the largest Nasdaq-listed cannabis lenders. Much of the real estate investment trust’s $9.4 billion in deals sourced has stemmed from AFC’s Partner and Head of Origination and Investor Relations, Robyn Tannenbaum. AFC’s highly selective vetting process — where a small number of potential deals have secured funding — not only shows wary institutional investors that today’s cannabis funds take a more judicious and strategic approach to deploying capital but also amplifies the wider industry’s legitimacy for future mainstream investors. [Read More @ Rollingstone]