Medicinal Cannabis Business Conference (MCBC)

SANCAP founder

Since 2017, I have been the Commercial Manager at Bosman van Zaal, the only new greenhouse supplier in South Africa in recent years. We have built a reputation for excellence in service, innovative product offerings, and IP in intensive horticulture. Our expertise has extended into the burgeoning cannabis industry, where automation and turnkey solutions are essential for cultivation success.

In 2019, I founded the South African Cannabis Association (SANCAP), a platform committed to supporting the local cannabis industry through networking, commercial engagement, and partnerships with industry stakeholders. My mission is to continue advancing sustainable agricultural practices, promoting innovation, and fostering growth within the cannabis sector.

Prof Neelaveni Padayachee is an accomplished academic and public health professional with over 20 years of experience across public health systems in Africa, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Her work focuses on health systems strengthening, medicine quality, pharmacovigilance, and patient safety.

She has authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications on topics including substandard and falsified medicines, rational medicine use, and regulatory practices, contributing to evidence-based policy and improved pharmaceutical governance.

Prof Padayachee has also served the profession through her work with the South African Pharmacy Council, where she has been involved as a CPD assessor, moderator, and inspector for over 15 years, supporting compliance with professional and regulatory standards.

Through collaboration with technical experts, policymakers, and Ministries of Health, she continues to advance medicine safety, research, and best practices to strengthen healthcare systems and improve patient outcomes.

Nick Abbingh is Managing Partner of Cannabis-drying.com, a specialist provider of GMP-compliant drying systems for regulated and medicinal cannabis.

Backed by Agratechniek’s 50+ years of experience in climate control and drying technology, he primarily supports projects across Europe while also working with clients in other international markets worldwide.

Peter Nel is a Chemical Engineer, biotechnology entrepreneur, and CEO of GES Labs, a South African genomics and molecular diagnostics company. He founded GES Labs to localise advanced biotechnology in Africa, delivering high-quality, scalable medicinal cannabis medicines for African and global markets.

Under his leadership, GES Labs has expanded from advanced cannabinoid R&D to GMP medicine manufacturing, quality control laboratories, and global therapeutic delivery across areas such as pain, cachexia, and opiate dependency. His work strengthens South Africa’s biopharma manufacturing capacity, medicine security, and decentralised innovation through strong partnerships across academia, industry, and public health.

Aligned with the Congress theme “Synergies, Symbioses, Sustainability,” Mr Nel champions translational biotechnology that connects research with real-world impact, advancing health sovereignty, skills development, and sustainable biotechnology growth across Africa.

Anri Coetzee is a Responsible Pharmacist at a licensed medicinal cannabis cultivation facility in South Africa. She is a qualified pharmacist, trained at North-West University, with extensive experience in community pharmacy and pharmaceutical compliance. As an RP, she specialises in regulatory oversight, quality assurance, SOP development, and patient safety, bridging traditional pharmaceutical standards with the emerging cannabis industry.

Her expertise comes from both professional experience and seeing the therapeutic value of cannabis firsthand, inspiring her to ensure that patient care, ethical practice, and compliance remain central to the industry. She is passionate about supporting the growth of a responsible and trusted medicinal cannabis sector and advocating for women in technical and leadership roles.

Ben Nikaj (MSc) is an experienced Senior Crop Advisor at Grodan, a leading provider of stone wool substrates for professional horticulture. With over 25 years of experience, Ben supports vegetable and medicinal crop growers worldwide in optimising irrigation strategies and cultivation methods through data-driven decisions.

Wesley Petzer is a global cannabis consultant specialising in cultivation systems, commercial strategy, and market transition. Based in the Netherlands and originally from South Africa, he works internationally as a global commercial and cultivation consultant for Atami Nutrients, helping companies adapt from legacy operations to modern, regulated cannabis markets.

His work spans cultivation strategy, input economics, and long-term planning across diverse regulatory environments. Having worked across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Africa, Wesley brings a connected-systems perspective shaped by agriculture, economics, and human decision-making.

Gregory Ondjrekovic is a highly experienced analytical chemist with over 24 years in pharmaceutical, veterinary, agricultural, and environmental testing laboratories. His expertise includes HPLC, GC, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, and Ion Chromatography. Greg has led method development and ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation initiatives in multiple laboratories and has presented research at international conferences, including EU MS in the Netherlands.

As Technical Director at Ecogreen Analytics, he drives analytical excellence, oversees accredited testing operations, and advances scientific standards in pharmaceutical and cannabis laboratory testing.

Sonja Nel-Ondrejkovic is a strategic leader with over 23 years of experience in operations and supply chain management across the banking and medical industries. With a strong foundation in operational excellence, compliance, and risk management, she has built a career on transforming long-term vision into measurable, high-impact outcomes.

As CEO of Ecogreen Analytics, Sonja plays a pivotal role in steering the company’s growth and sustainability within a highly regulated industry. Her strength lies in aligning operational strategy with regulatory compliance, quality assurance, and long-term business scalability. Through disciplined execution and a clear strategic roadmap, she has helped position Ecogreen Analytics as a leading cannabis testing laboratory in South and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Gabriel Christiaan Theron is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cilo Cybin Holdings, a JSE-listed biotechnology investment company, and its GMP-licensed manufacturing subsidiary, Cilo Cybin Pharmaceutical. He established the group as a structured, vertically integrated manufacturing platform within the regulated medicinal cannabis sector, guiding its development from early-stage operations into one of South Africa’s largest pharmaceutical-grade extraction and production infrastructures.

With prior executive experience in organisational turnarounds and regulated operating environments, Gabriel brings a disciplined, performance-led approach to scaling compliant manufacturing systems aligned to pharmaceutical quality standards and export-oriented regulatory frameworks.

Kim Praizovic is the Co-Founder of CannaGrit (Pty) Ltd, a Cape Town-based GMP cannabis cultivation and processing company focused on EU-aligned pharmaceutical production.

With over eight years of experience in the European cannabis market, she specialises in developing companies and building high-performing teams that operate to meticulous international production standards. Her experience spans both cultivation operations and the European market access and QP release framework, providing insight into the full pathway from compliant production to commercial distribution.

Her focus lies in aligning local production with global quality standards while creating scalable infrastructure for export-driven growth.

(BSc Microbiology II Quality Assurance Manager)

Samukelisiwe Mazibuko is a Quality Assurance manager with a strong scientific background and over 2 years of experience in the medicinal cannabis industry.

Specialised in SAHPRA-aligned GMP; GSP and GACP systems, with a proven ability to lead audits, support inspections and licensing, and implement Quality Management Systems.

Regulatory and Compliance Pharmacist; PCDT Practitioner (Panel Facilitator)

Jacqui is a qualified pharmacist with over 30 years of experience across the pharmaceutical sector and more than eight years of active involvement in the African medicinal cannabis industry. She is director of ProPharmers, medicinal cannabis advisory service company.

Her expertise spans the full development lifecycle of medicinal cannabis operations, including facility land acquisition, cGACP and cGMP facility design, pre-operational licensing applications, audit preparation, SOP and QMS development, offtake engagement, recruitment, training, and operational support.

A committed lifelong learner, Jacqui is known for her strength in building and maintaining strategic relationships across the regulatory, clinical, and commercial landscape. She currently serves as the regulatory and compliance liaison for SANCAP and is the programme director of the SANCAP Medicinal Cannabis Business Conference (MCBC).

In addition, Jacqui is an evaluator for the South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) and holds a Primary Care Drug Therapy (PCDT) practitioner permit, reflecting her ongoing commitment to advancing professional standards and responsible access to medicinal cannabis within Africa.

Tanya Clarke is the Founder and CEO of Invegrow Ltd, a Malawian agricultural and pharmaceutical supply company focused on the cultivation and processing of medical cannabis and industrial hemp for international markets. With over 15 years of experience developing agricultural value chains in Southern Africa, she has played a leading role in helping establish Malawi’s regulated cannabis industryand advancing opportunities for pharmaceutical-grade cannabis production in the region.

Clarke also founded Kawandama Hills Plantation, which produces essential oils and natural bio-based products while supporting rural employment and sustainable land management. Her work focuses on building compliant African supply chains that connect cultivation, processing and export of plant-based ingredients to global pharmaceutical and wellness markets.

Constant graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2019.

He co-founded AgriSmart Engineering in 2020.

AgriSmart is an agri-technology and engineering company, which develops advanced solutions for controlled environment engineering applications.

AgriSmart has received multiple recognitions for innovation, including special recognition awards in the GAP Programme for Biotechnology Development, at the Africa BioTech Conference, and winning the inaugural (UPVCC) Innovation Challenge.

These achievements led to AgriSmart being incubated by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) and enabled the company to commercialise its award-winning technologies with support from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

AgriSmart has executed numerous impactful projects within the cannabis industry, including the design of an ISO 008 Class D facility. The company has also delivered controlled-environment engineering projects to agricultural laboratories and one of the worlds largest PGM mining projects.

Co-Founder and Scientific Officer, Nexus Diagnostics

Michael brings extensive experience in plant pathology and laboratory operations, overseeing all diagnostic testing and quality assurance at Nexus.

Pharmacist | Head of Medical Education – AKOS BIO

Tania Mathys is a pharmacist with experience across community pharmacy, public health, and pharmaceutical leadership. As Head of Medical Education at AKOS BIO, she leads clinical education initiatives, healthcare professional training, and stakeholder engagement to support the responsible use of innovative therapies.

Tania has extensive experience in pharmacy innovation, protocol development, and policy implementation. She remains passionate about advancing clinical education, strengthening pharmacy practice, and improving patient outcomes through innovation and collaboration.

Taariq is the founder of Curated, a clinical workflow and outcomes platform designed to support safer, more consistent medicinal cannabis prescribing.

With a background in maritime navigation and regulated operations, he entered the cannabis sector through cultivation. He later pivoted toward compounding in response to regulatory and market realities before founding Curated – experiencing first-hand how quickly the commercial market can outpace clinical structure.

Curated was born from those gaps, aiming to strengthen clinician confidence through structured follow-up, outcomes tracking, and clear clinical governance that can stand up to scrutiny, while creating a structured basis for real-world evidence to support better clinical decision-making over time.

Adrian Coutts is a medical cannabis cultivation and operations professional. When not working and living between Johannesburg and Khorong Ha Nchela, Lesotho spends whatever time he can on his offgrid homestead in the mountains of the Klein Karoo.

He has honed the art of cultivation over many years, first as a legacy grower and then as a head of cultivation and operations consultant to several facilities. Known for his methodical plant and people first approach, Adrian focuses on building resilient systems and strong teams.