ABICANN

What ABICANN does

ABICANN — Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Cannabis e Cânhamo — is a Brazilian non-profit industry association founded in 2017 (CNPJ 41.124.689/0001-43, headquartered in São Paulo) and recognized as the first and most institutionally mature business association for the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp sectors in Brazil. Its core function is policy advocacy, regulatory navigation, industry coordination, and stakeholder facilitation: it convenes government bodies (ANVISA, MAPA, MCTI, Ministry of Health, STJ), federal and state universities (UNILA, UFF, UFPB, UnB, UNIFESP, UFV), research institutes (Embrapa, IBCPA, CTICANN), and private companies across 21 economic sectors spanning agriculture, health, food, cosmetics, biotechnology, textiles, construction, and animal nutrition. ABICANN's institutional milestones include CNI membership (2022), the STJ's IAC 16 ruling (November 2024) recognizing regulatory omission, formal incorporation of its Nota Técnica into ANVISA Process 25351.914415/2025-70, and inclusion in the CNI Legislative Agenda 2026 — the first time in over 30 years.

ABICANN generates revenue exclusively through membership fees paid by associated companies, cooperatives, universities, laboratories, investors, and professionals, supplemented by event revenues (Hemp Fair Brasil) and partnerships; specific fee tiers are not publicly disclosed. The association does not develop proprietary technology platforms — its product surface consists of: (1) the Hemp Fair Brasil international trade fair and Hemp Fair Experience International webinar series; (2) the ABICANN Quality Seal certification program (Integrity Program, launching January 2026); (3) the Technical Summary on Cannabis sativa L. Regulation (jointly produced with CTICANN); (4) the Observatório ABICANN knowledge platform; and (5) CTICANN Educação professional training programs. Its governance structure comprises five Strategic Councils (Empresarial, Científico e Tecnológico, Diplomacia Internacional, Políticas Públicas, Regional e Núcleos Estaduais) and six Thematic Working Groups (Agriculture & Fibers, Health & Medicines, Industry & Innovation, Taxation, Labor Relations, Regulation & Public Policy).

The association's go-to-market centers on thought leadership, regulatory advocacy communications, event production, multilingual digital content (Portuguese, English, Spanish), and international diplomatic outreach. Distribution is conducted through a membership enrollment portal, free technical downloads via abicann.org, LinkedIn, email newsletters, and international trade missions. ABICANN's network spans 16 Brazilian states with international affiliations to the US National Hemp Association and International Women in Hemp, and projects that Brazil's combined Cannabis Medicinal and Industrial Hemp markets could inject over US$30 billion annually into the Brazilian economy by 2030.

Name

ABICANN

Legal name

Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Cannabis e Cânhamo

Website

https://abicann.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ABICANN is a Brazilian non-profit trade association founded in 2017 that serves as the first and most institutionally mature industry body for the Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp sectors, coordinating policy advocacy, regulatory submissions to ANVISA/MAPA/STJ, and stakeholder engagement across 21 economic sectors for member companies, universities, and research institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: ABICANN generates revenue through membership fees paid by associated companies, cooperatives, universities, laboratories, investors, and professionals. Fees support institutional operations, advocacy activities, event production, and the coordination of working groups and councils. Specific fee tiers are not publicly disclosed.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ABICANN (Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Cannabis e Cânhamo) is a private non-profit industry association that represents companies, cooperatives, universities, laboratories, investors and professionals operating in Brazil's Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp sectors. The association delivers policy advocacy, regulatory navigation, technical publications, industry events (Hemp Fair Brasil), professional training (CTICANN Educação), certification (ABICANN Quality Seal), and the Observatório ABICANN knowledge platform. Membership enrollment, working groups, and strategic councils are its core delivery mechanisms.

Product overview

ABICANN is an industry association (Associação Brasileira das Indústrias de Cannabis e Cânhamo) focused on Medicinal Cannabis and Industrial Hemp sectors in Brazil. Rather than a unified technology product, ABICANN operates as a platform providing: Hemp Fair Brasil and Hemp Fair Experience International as event platforms; CTICANN Educação for professional training in cannabis innovation; the ABICANN Quality Seal for industry certification; and the Observatório ABICANN for regulatory knowledge. The association connects government bodies (ANVISA, MAPA, MCTI), universities, research centers, and companies to develop Brazil's cannabis and hemp industry across 21 economic sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ABICANN Integrity Program and Quality Seal Voluntary certification program for companies, industries, producers and organizations in the Cannabis and Hemp productive chain in Brazil, part of the Integrity Program launched January 2026 with four-year pilot duration.
• Technical Summary on Cannabis sativa L. Regulation Technical document produced jointly with CTICANN consolidating regulatory advances for Industrial Hemp (Cânhamo) in Brazil. Version 2.0 published December 2025 covering ANVISA, MAPA and STJ regulatory developments, available free in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
• Hemp Fair Brasil International trade fair for Cannabis Medicinal and Industrial Hemp industries, serving as the main business networking platform in the Americas. Features exhibition stands, panels, business rounds, medical and scientific conferences.
• Hemp Fair Experience International International webinar series in English connecting international businesses with Brazilian cannabis market opportunities. Features speakers from USA, Canada and Brazil discussing regulation and business entry.
• CTICANN Educação Educational platform dedicated to training professionals capable of connecting science, innovation, management, intellectual property, technological transfer, communication, market and social impact. Operates as part of the Centro de Tecnologia e Inovação da Cannabis (CTICANN) ecosystem.
• Observatório ABICANN Observatory platform integrating global data on Cannabis and Hemp, consolidating technical knowledge, regulatory information and scientific publications for sector stakeholders in Brazil and abroad.

Quantifiable outcome

• ABICANN's Nota Técnica was formally incorporated into ANVISA's regulatory process (Processo nº 25351.914415/2025-70), marking the first time a Brazilian industry association contributed a technical document cited in official regulatory proceedings.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025ABICANN is an official member of CNI, which recognized Industrial Hemp and Medicinal Cannabis for inclusion in the CNI Legislative Agenda 2026 — the first time in over 30 years of the agenda's existence. CNI is supporting ABICANN's participation in legislative drafting, policy proposals, and parliamentary engagement. ABICANN also announced its Integrity Program and ABICANN Quality Seal during the CNI event in Brasília.
• Centro de Tecnologia e Inovação da Cannabis (CTICANN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCTICANN is ABICANN's primary research and innovation partner. Together they co-produced the Technical Summary on Cannabis Regulation (Versions 1.0 and 2.0). CTICANN operates as the technical-scientific arm, running research, education programs (CTICANN Educação), and the 'Pesquisa Aplicada, Inovação e Navegação em Ambientes Complexos' training program. The two entities co-signed the Nota Técnica to ANVISA and collaborate on the Ecossistema AMPERCIAS.
• Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNILA contributed to ABICANN's Nota Técnica submitted to ANVISA (Processo nº 25351.914415/2025-70). Prof. Dr. Francisney Nascimento, Coordinator of the Medicinal Cannabis and Psychedelic Science Laboratory (LCP-UNILA), was a named contributor. UNILA is organizing to file experimental cannabis cultivation applications beginning Q1 2026.
• Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFF, through Prof. Dr. Carlos Peregrino (Vice-Coordinator of the Laboratory of Natural Product Technology, LTPN/UFF), contributed to ABICANN's technical note to ANVISA. UFF contributes research capacity in natural product chemistry and pharmaceutical technology.
• Instituto Brasileiro de Ciências Psicoativas (IBCPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBCPA contributed to ABICANN's Nota Técnica to ANVISA. The institute is part of the Ecossistema AMPERCIAS (ABICANN · CTICANN · IBCPA), working on psychedelic science, cannabis research, and policy advocacy.
• Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmbrapa is listed among the government and research bodies with which ABICANN has been conducting outreach and collaboration in 2025, particularly on the Industrial Hemp agricultural agenda under MAPA coordination. Embrapa's agricultural research expertise supports the development of hemp cultivation protocols.
• Universidade de Brasília (UnB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnB contributed to ABICANN's Nota Técnica to ANVISA. Natalie Catarina Lima, a lawyer and researcher at UnB's Law School, contributed analysis on regulatory sandbox frameworks for Cannabis sativa spp.
• Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFPB contributed to ABICANN's Nota Técnica to ANVISA. Julio Cezar Vieira Brasil da Fonseca, a UFPB graduate in Agroecology and researcher in Medicinal Cannabis and Plant Biology, was a named contributor.
• ANVISA (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerANVISA is the primary regulatory counterpart for ABICANN's policy work. ABICANN submitted a formal Nota Técnica (Processo nº 25351.914415/2025-70) which was incorporated into ANVISA's regulatory proceedings. ABICANN recognized ANVISA's Fifth Board for its technical and transparent approach to the regulatory review of RDC 327/2019, the sandbox regulatory implementation, and the review of RDC 660/2022.
• MAPA (Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAPA is the lead government agency for Industrial Hemp regulation, overseeing the Portaria SDA/MAPA nº 1.342/2025 on seeds. ABICANN coordinates with MAPA on the hemp cultivation regulatory track, and MAPA has recognized the role of ABICANN in structuring productive chains.
• National Hemp Association (NHA - USA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAna Fábia Ribas de Oliveira Ferraz Martins, ABICANN's VP of International Relations and ABICANN representative, is a member of the National Hemp Association (USA), facilitating cross-border knowledge exchange on hemp industry standards and regulatory best practices.
• International Women in HempminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerABICANN's VP of International Relations is a member of International Women in Hemp, an organization promoting female leadership and participation in the global hemp industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Drug Policy Alliance: US-based organization promoting drug policy reform. Adjacent advocacy player whose work shapes public and political attitudes toward cannabis regulation; included as a thematically related organization rather than a direct industry peer.
• NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws): US-based advocacy organization focused on marijuana law reform. Comparable only in policy advocacy dimension, not industry trade body — included as an adjacent ecosystem player that influences the regulatory environment ABICANN operates in.

Regional players

• Cámara de Cannabis Medicinal de Uruguay / ICCA: Uruguayan cannabis industry chamber. Comparable regional peer operating in a more advanced regulatory environment (Uruguay legalized cannabis earlier); useful comparator for institutional development and membership models.
• Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA): National industry association advancing the Canadian hemp sector. Comparable mission and non-profit trade association model, but operates in a distinct regulatory environment (Health Canada framework) and primarily serves Canadian stakeholders.
• European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA): Europe's primary industry association for industrial hemp, focused on EU regulatory advocacy, market data, and standards. Comparable in mission and structure (non-profit trade body for hemp), but serves a different geography and regulatory regime than ABICANN.
• Cannabis Council of Canada / Cannabis Canada Association: Canadian licensed-producer industry association focused on regulatory engagement and policy advocacy. Comparable mission in advocating for a nascent cannabis sector under a complex regulatory regime; non-Canadian geography makes it a regional rather than direct peer.
• Asociación Argentina de Cannabis (various): Argentine cannabis industry associations developing the medicinal and industrial hemp sector. Comparable regional peer in South America with overlapping regulatory ambitions and market access challenges; serve as natural partners or competitors for cross-border policy coordination.

Direct peers

• National Hemp Association (NHA): US-based trade association promoting the industrial hemp industry. Direct peer because both serve as national-level industry associations convening hemp stakeholders, engaging regulators, and producing technical and policy guidance — NHA is even named as ABICANN's international partner.
• National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA): US national trade association for the cannabis industry. Closely comparable model: member-driven advocacy, policy engagement, and industry convening across medicinal and adult-use markets. NCIA's logo appears on ABICANN's partner list, signaling cross-recognition.

Broad incumbents

• Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI): Brazil's apex industry confederation. Functions as ABICANN's institutional umbrella and convener of the Legislative Agenda 2026; comparable as a multi-sector industry advocacy body but vastly larger in scope and resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abicann

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ABICANN