Legalisation of cannabis in the USA has triggered a growing demand for international private medical insurance (IPMI) coverage in Africa, the Health & Protection IPMI Summit has heard.
The move has come as companies in the USA have exported the growth of cannabis to Africa, rather than growing it themselves in the states.
Speaking at the IPMI Summit, NFP international sales consultant Matthew Shaw explained how demand for IPMI in Africa had boomed from an unexpected source.
“We’ve seen quite a big growth from the USA market because of the legalisation of cannabis,” Shaw (pictured) said.
“The actual growth of cannabis is taking place in Africa and then being shipped to the US because it’s cheaper than growing it locally, so that’s a huge growth area for us and surprisingly so.
“We’ve seen a number of big businesses that have either just acquired existing plantations in Africa or are just setting up growing their product and shipping back to the US.”