Akerna secures world's first national government cannabis contract with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

World's first nationally adopted cannabis software program will help standardize, simplify, and propel the federally-run medicinal cannabis industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

DENVER, Aug. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN) company, today announces an exclusive partnership with the Medicinal Cannabis Authority (MCA) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). In this partnership, Akerna will provide the MCA with a specially developed customer relationship management tool (CRM) designed to strengthen the medicinal cannabis industry in the Caribbean country while simultaneously adhering to regulatory needs and creating a user-friendly experience. This program will serve as a national model which can be replicated to meet any global cannabis regulations.

The Medicinal Cannabis Industry in SVG exists within parameters and mandates set by local laws and the international treaties for traceability that govern controlled substances. These parameters require precise tracking of medicinal cannabis which, when combined with the requirements for authorization of personal possession, necessitate a significant amount of documentation that must be completed for each patient.

The CRM implemented by Ample Organics, an Akerna company, is expected to greatly simplify this documentation process and allow  for a rapid assessment of the patient access platform, improving data retrieval, data availability to the MCA, and an overall user-friendly experience of the physician, pharmacist, and patient.

"After seeing the success of Akerna's Ample Organics product in Canada, the Medicinal Cannabis Authority of SVG was interested in partnering to create software for their specific regulatory and compliance needs," said Jessica Billingsley, CEO of Akerna. "This marks the very first implementation of a countrywide CRM system within the cannabis industry and will stand as a model for other countries or regions looking to implement a nationally standardized system."

"The new workflows will provide better informational organization and add efficiency to the monitoring and analytical processes, reducing time, paper, and human resource requirements, to maximise productivity,'" said Dr. Jerrol Thompson, CEO of the Medicinal Cannabis Authority. "The MCA wished to express its sincere thanks to Ample Organics and the rest of the Akerna family for guiding SVG through the various challenges of starting a cannabis market, enabling us to arrive at this successful juncture today."            

St. Vincent and the Grenadines strives to be the best regulated Medicinal Cannabis Industry in the Caribbean, with acclaimed, high-quality products for local use and export, which meets the highest international and industry standards. The vision for the cannabis industry in SVG incorporates the entire value chain of this medicinal product, including Good Agricultural & Collection Practices (GACP), Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP), export, and local patient access. The industry has been designed to maximise its impact on the Vincentian labour force and economy and is expected to be a significant driver of technological innovation and contributor to the agricultural, industrial, medical, and tourism sectors growth.

About Ample Organics: 

Founded in 2014 and acquired by Akerna in 2020, Ample Organics is adopted by more Canadian Licensed Holders than any other cannabis software solution. A complete ecosystem for cannabis businesses, the technology platform makes compliance easy by tracking individual plants from seed to consumer and reporting every detail of the growth, production, and sales processes. Our team of cannabis industry and technology experts designed the platform to facilitate compliance and transparency while enhancing overall business efficiency and operational intelligence. The software continues to be the most trusted solution for cannabis producers, manufacturers, distributors, physicians, clinics, laboratories, retailers, and educators. Visit AmpleOrganics.com.  

About Akerna:

Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN) is an enterprise software company focused on compliantly serving the cannabis, hemp, and CBD industries. Based in Denver, Colorado, the company's mission is to create the world's most transparent and accountable supply chain by building a cannabis technology ecosystem connecting data points across the global cannabis supply chain from seed to sale to self. First launched in 2010, Akerna has tracked more than $20 billion in cannabis sales to date and was the first cannabis software company listed on Nasdaq.

Using connected data and information to propel the cannabis industry forward, Akerna empowers businesses, governments, patients, and consumers to make smart decisions. The company's cornerstone technology, MJ Platform, the world's leading infrastructure as a service platform, powers retailers, manufacturers, brands, distributors, and cultivators. Akerna also offers a complete suite of professional consulting services and data analytics for businesses as well as solo sciences, MJ Freeway, Leaf Data Systems, Trellis, Ample Organics, and Viridian Sciences.

About the Medicinal Cannabis Authority:

The Medicinal Cannabis Authority was established through the Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, 2018. It is a body corporate with a mandate to regulate the cultivation, supply, possession, production, and use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. This mandate forms part of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines' vision to establish a well-regulated export-oriented medicinal cannabis industry. Visit MCA.VC.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has established a well-regulated, high-quality export-oriented Medicinal Cannabis Industry. It strives to be a leader and an example of how a small nation with big dreams, ideas, and well-designed plans can successfully establish a world-class Medicinal Cannabis Industry. An essential component of this is the local availability of Medicinal Cannabis to local patients and visitors with suitable qualifying illnesses and to do this in a highly efficient and professional manner.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this release and any accompanying statements by management are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "estimates," "projected," "expects," "anticipates," "forecasts," "plans," "intends," "believes," "seeks," "may," "will," "should," "future," "propose" and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the CRM implemented by Ample being expected to greatly simplify the documentation process and allow  for a rapid assessment of the patient access platform, improving data retrieval, data availability to the MCA, and an overall user-friendly experience and any other statements expressing the views of Akerna's management on future business results or strategy. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Akerna's control, that could cause actual results or outcomes (including, without limitation, the results of Akerna's contracts, strategic initiatives, and business plans as described herein) to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others that may affect actual results or outcomes, include (i) Akerna's ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of being a public company, (ii) competition, (iii) Akerna's ability to grow and manage growth profitably, (iv) Akerna's ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees, (v) costs related to being a public company, (vi) changes in applicable laws or regulations, (vii) Akerna's ability to identify, complete and integrate acquisitions, including Viridian, and achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in connection with acquired businesses, (viii) and other risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in Akerna's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those under "Risk Factors" therein. Actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially, and potentially adversely, from any projections and forward-looking statements and the assumptions on which those vary from forward-looking statements are based. There can be no assurance that the data contained herein is reflective of future performance to any degree. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a predictor of future performance as projected financial and other information, are based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to various significant risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Akerna's control. All information herein speaks only as of the date hereof, in the case of information about Akerna, or the date of such information, in the case of information from persons other than Akerna. Akerna undertakes no duty to update or revise the information contained herein. Forecasts and estimates regarding Akerna's industry and end markets are based on sources believed to be reliable; however, there can be no assurance these forecasts and estimates will prove accurate in whole or in part.

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