CANNABIS FIRM PLOTS LONDON SHARE LISTING

Alexandra Chong, right, was born in Jamaica, and attended boarding school in England and Canada

She played tennis for Jamaica

The mother-of-two set up the mobile dating app Lulu, which let women share ratings of men they knew

She is married to Richard Branson’s nephew, photographer Jack Brockway

Chong is on the board of women’s medical device startup Elvie A BRITISH company growing cannabis for medicinal use in Jamaica is considering an initial public offering on AIM later this year.

Jacana, founded by Alexandra Chong, raised an initial £15m from high-profile angel investors including Passion Capital co-founder Eileen Burbidge, venture capitalist Bill Tai and former Microsoft marketing head Mich Mathews-Spradlin. Each put their own money into the firm and also sit on Jacana’s board.

A junior market float would make Jacana one of the first companies in the sector to list in Britain. Jacana exported its first medical cannabis flower to Canadian firm Anandia in late 2018. And the company, which has 55 employees and a 100-acre farm in northern Jamaica, plans to sell to patients across North America, Europe and the UK in the coming months.

Chong, 37, said: ‘Jacana’s mission is to provide natural medicine that people can trust.’

Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s minister of industry, said: ‘Our country will play a crucial role in addressing the global demand for medical cannabis.’