About CannaBiz
We Cover Africa’s Cannabis Economy Like a Business, Because It Is One
Since 2020, Cannabiz Africa has been the trusted newsroom for the people building Africa’s cannabis and hemp industry — investors, cultivators, regulators, and the professionals who serve them.
Who we are
Our Story
Built for an Industry Still Being Written
Cannabis reform in Africa doesn’t move in straight lines — it moves through court judgments, ministerial delays, pilot programmes, and quiet policy shifts that can change a business overnight. Cannabiz exists to track all of it, translate it, and put it in front of the people who need to act on it first.
We started as a small newsroom watching South Africa’s early legal cannabis market take shape. Today we cover regulatory and policy developments, cultivation and hemp agriculture, medical cannabis, cannabis tourism, and the legal, banking, and professional services holding the industry together — across South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, and Rwanda.
We’re not a lifestyle blog and we’re not an activist outlet. We’re a B2B publication — which means our job is to give operators, investors, and policymakers information they can actually use.
what we do
Our Mission
Market Intelligence, Not Just Headlines
Cannabiz was built on one belief: an industry this fast-moving and this heavily regulated deserves journalism as serious as the money and law behind it. Every story we publish is built to help someone make a better decision — whether that’s a cultivator weighing a licence application, a lawyer briefing a client on a new judgment, or an investor sizing up a new market.
We combine daily news coverage with deeper market intelligence: policy analysis, cultivation and export data, legal explainers, and on-the-ground reporting from newsrooms and industry contacts across the continent.
What we cover
Coverage Areas
From the Grow Room to the Regulator’s Desk
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Regulatory & Policy
Court rulings, licensing frameworks, and government reform (or the lack of it)
Our Reach
Across Africa
One Newsroom, Nine Markets — and Growing
Cannabis policy doesn’t move at the same pace in every country, so we don’t cover Africa as one story. Our reporting spans South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Mauritius, and Rwanda, with country-level context for readers doing business across borders.
How we work
Editorial Standards
Independent. Sourced. Unafraid of the Grey Areas.
Cannabis law in Africa is often unclear, contested, or actively being tested in court — and we report it that way rather than pretending otherwise. Our editorial approach:
Independant
We are not funded or influenced by any single cultivator, retailer, or advocacy group
Sourced
We name our sources wherever possible and clearly label sponsored or contributed content
Balanced
We publish a diversity of legal and industry opinion, including views we don’t personally hold
Direct
When regulation is confused, contradictory, or absurd, we say so
Brett Hilton-Barber
Founding Publisher of Cannabiz Africa
A veteran South African journalist (B.Journ, Rhodes University, 1979), Brett’s career spans Radio 702, Cape Talk, iafrica.com, and correspondent roles with RFI and the BBC. He’s also co-authored several books with Prof Lee Berger, including In the Footsteps of Eve and Exploring Kruger.
After relocating from Cape Town, Brett launched Cannabiz Africa in 2021 and has since become a familiar voice in South Africa’s cannabis industry, with involvement in the Cannabis Private Sector Working Group, Cannasphere, and the Cheeba Summits. In 2025 he launched Kuma, a CBD and Afrobotanical beauty range with a retail outlet in Hoedspruit.
Brett lives on a farm near Tzaneen, Limpopo, where his passions include the history of cannabis in Africa, indigenous landraces, and the healing power of nature.
His preferred strain is Durban Poison.
John Makoni
Africa Editor for Cannabiz Africa
John Makoni is a seasoned journalist, content creator and cannabis industry writer with decades of experience in South African media. He has worked across leading publications including Independent Media, Primedia and iafrica.com, covering news, current affairs, entertainment, sport and features.
John has developed a strong focus on Africa’s emerging cannabis industry, bringing his extensive editorial experience and knowledge of the sector to his role as Africa Editor at Cannabiz Africa, which he joined in January 2025. He is also the author of 10 Sojourners Tales, a short story collection published in 2019.
Noxolo Mhlongo (Noxy Makhedama)
Content Editor for Cannabiz Africa
Noxy Makhedama is a Johannesburg-based cannabis educator, digital creator, and community builder reshaping how South Africa engages with plant medicine. A Senior Editor at Africa’s largest pay-television broadcaster, she brings media craft, cannabis advocacy, and conscious wellness together through authentic storytelling.
As Content Editor for Cannabiz Africa, Noxy translates complex conversations on cannabis education, regulation, and wellness into accessible content. Her “real convos” have built a community of over 133,000 followers and 3 million likes on TikTok, plus 44,000 followers on Instagram.
She facilitated the Cannabis Lifestyle module of the Business of Cannabis course, developed by Cheeba Cannabis Academy with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and has hosted regular community workshops at the Academy. In 2025 and 2026, she was MC of the Cheeba Cannabis and Hemp Summit at the Cannabis Expo. She is now preparing to launch her own cannabis microdosing brand, Mykro.
Work With Us
Reach the People Making the Decisions
Our readers are the executives, cultivators, investors, and advisors driving Africa’s cannabis economy. If you want to put your brand, research, or event in front of them, we offer sponsored content, section sponsorships, and event partnerships.
The Cannabiz Brief
Start Your Morning With the Cannabiz Brief
Reach the People Making the Decisions
The one email African cannabis executives read every morning — regulation, deals, cultivation science, and event alerts, curated by our newsroom. Free. Weekdays, 07:00 SAST.
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