Christine De La Rosa, CEO, The People’s Group Fund PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PEOPLE’S GROUP FUND
The People’s Group Fund seeks to tip the balance of capital toward minorities in the cannabis trade
Cannabis company CEO Christine De La Rosa has won seed backing from the family office of a Silicon Valley investor for her debut $50 million venture capital fund aimed at minority entrepreneurs in the legal marijuana business.
The People’s Group Fund will deploy from $250,000 to $1 million-plus per investment to cannabis businesses owned by women, African-Americans, indigenous people, and people of color.
“The cannabis industry was created by Black and brown people in the informal market,” Del La Rosa said in an interview. “My company came out of the legacy market and transitioned into the legal market. We’re building an ecosystem through the fund to invest in really amazing founders with really great existing businesses or business startups.”
Chad and Tenah Dyer have committed an undisclosed amount of capital from their family foundation as seed investors in the People’s Group Fund, De La Rosa said. According to his LinkedIn page, Chad Dyer worked as chief information officer at venture capital giant Sequoia Capital for 13 years and left the firm in October, 2020.
De La Rosa’s company, The People’s Ecosystem, operates a non-store retail cannabis business in California. The company is also reopening its storefront dispensary in the Bay Area, planning a cultivation site in New Mexico and developing business plans in Illinois.
To Read The Rest Of This Article By Steve Gelsi on MarketWatch
Published: September 28, 2021
Founder & Interim Editor of L.A. Cannabis News
