Roth Capital Partners is to host the inaugural Women Cannabis Pioneers – The Brand Builders Investor Conference.
Full service investment bank Roth Capital Partners is to virtually host the one-day Women Cannabis Pioneers conference on that will give investors the opportunity to meet with executive management from approximately 25 female-founded or led private companies in the cannabis industry.
The conference is the first female-focused investor event hosted by a major investment bank in the industry.
“Roth conferences play an instrumental role in addressing the most pertinent issues and trends within the small-cap universe, and our team recognised the need to bring together startup and investment professionals to find solutions that facilitate gender equity in in the cannabis industry in California and beyond,” said Byron Roth, chairman and CEO of Roth Capital Partners.
“Female cannabis consumers are one of the fastest growing demographics, and we look forward to highlighting the efforts of women to build companies in this sector.”
The event will be held on 28 September, 2021, in partnership with Wendy A. Berger, founder of Woman Backing Women, LLC.
Women in cannabis
The regulated cannabis space has seen rapid growth in recent years, however, female executives represent just 37 per cent of C-suite positions and only 8 per cent of CEO positions in the industry.
The Women Cannabis Pioneers – The Brand Builders Investor Conference aims to provide investors with the resources and connections to support established female-led ventures and to meaningfully address gender disparities in the cannabis industry.
Wendy A. Berger, Board Director, Green Thumb Industries Inc., commented: “It’s my hope that the Roth Conference is the first of many opportunities to get women funded. This is a first-of-its-kind event that will provide an opportunity for woman-founded and/or led cannabis brands to present in front of a large group of investors. In an industry where only 2 per cent of venture capital dollars go to women – we just aren’t where the conversations are happening.
“The one thing these women have in common is that they have not had the same types of platforms and exposure as their male peers to investors, capital networks, and to opportunities for licensing deals, co-marketing and M&A. Our goal is to get these female cannabis entrepreneurs to the capital they need for their businesses to take off.”
Programming for the event will consist of 15-minute company presentations, one-on-one small group meetings, in addition to three industry panels, and investors will have exclusive access to founders specialising in sectors spanning retail, consumer packaged goods and supply chain management.
“As women working in cannabis since pre-Prop 64, my co-founder and I know all too well the challenges women face raising money,” said Erin Gore, founder and CEO of Garden Society.
“I’m grateful to Wendy and Roth for being intentional about ensuring founders like me have a seat at the table for the national cannabis conversation. The opportunity to be featured by Roth at this conference will help us foster relationships with investors, strategic partners, and multi-state operators that we would otherwise not have.”
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