• Youngevity offers products in the top eight selling retail categories
• The company offers a hybrid of the direct selling business model
• Youngevity is also developing a line of proprietary, hemp-derived cannabidiol oil products

A top omni-direct lifestyle company, Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) operates in the Direct Selling and Coffee Industry segments. The retail categories in which it participates include health and nutrition, home and family, food and beverage, spa and beauty, fashion, essential oils, photo and unique services. Chula Vista, California-based Youngevity International is among the top 100 global direct selling companies.

Youngevity is concentrating on three diverse growth channels. These encompass expansion into Latin America and Asia, its new technology platform and green coffee distribution through expansion of its brands. Moreover, the company is in the process of entering the cannabis market.

Youngevity offers a synthesis of the direct selling business model. This business model includes person-to-person selling relationships consisting of a “network of networks.” Tied in with this, the company’s technology-driven web platform supports Youngevity’s expansion of global e-commerce and social selling platforms.

Revenue drivers for Youngevity include newly-acquired distributors and customers, product approvals and corporate infrastructure. Youngevity has greater than 2,000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) that are poised to boost future growth. In addition, international expansion is at the heart of Youngevity’s strategic initiatives.

Youngevity supports its direct sellers with its innovative YoungevityGo2 app. This distributor app simplifies the selling process. It features social media campaigns and engaging video. It also features customer retention and distributor education, custom websites, data analytics, digital flipcharts and magazines.

Youngevity has its proprietary web-based acquisition portal for acquiring companies and their intellectual property. Its acquisition strategy centers on streamlined onboarding of customers, distributors and products. The company’s acquisition portfolio includes Via Viente, BellaVita, David Allen Capital, Inc., Nature Direct, Heritage Makers and Gigi Hill, among many others. Fundamentally, with this varied portfolio, Youngevity is a global Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity.

Regarding the coffee industry, Youngevity International has its wholly owned subsidiary, CLR Roasters. It is driving coffee revenue growth via green coffee distribution and private-label roasting. It is also driving growth through the sales of owned brands. Brands include Cafe La Rica and Josie’s Java House, as well as retail and food service brands. Supporting Youngevity’s coffee strategy is the company’s coffee plantation and modern dry-processing facility in Matagalpa, Nicaragua (http://ibn.fm/9TRQz). The 1,000 acres under management produce 100 percent Arabica coffee beans.

Furthermore, Youngevity has its hemp initiative. It is developing a complete line of proprietary hemp-derived cannabidiol oil products and has two new products with the expansion of its HempFX line. The two new products are HempFX Hydration – Sleep and HempFX Hydration – Pure. The company recently announced online availability of its hemp-derived cannabidiol HempFX products, which are available for purchase at www.HempFX.com.

Youngevity International’s commitment is to aggressive expansion via organic growth, mergers and acquisitions. The company’s annual revenue grew from $75 million in 2012 to $166 million in 2017. With its varied portfolio and direct selling model, Youngevity is poised to reward its stakeholders in the years ahead through its creative initiatives.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.YGYI.com

As one of the first STOs (security token offerings) in the hydrocarbon resource sector, Aziza Project LLC has had to navigate numerous regulatory hurdles. Throughout the evolution of the fund, a clear vision of powering and connecting southern Africa through localized, ethical oil and gas projects has driven things forward. The realization of its vision hinges on the successful execution of a differentiated and professional crypto offering, which is geared toward institutional investors.

The Aziza Coin is structured in such a way that the token will appeal readily to institutional buyers like hedge funds, who have gone from being a relatively minor player in ICOs to representing the lion’s share of ICO investment (http://ibn.fm/812j3) – a shift in the ICO market that is especially true, now that the sector has burnt off a lot of the speculative fervor. The reduced market volatility over the summer of 2018 brought in more institutional investors (http://ibn.fm/GqhXi), even as clear signs emerge that overall crypto adoption is increasing among both regular consumers and seasoned investors.

Essentially a tokenized equity, Aziza Coin’s initial asset is 20 percent ownership of Africa New Energies (ANE), which holds the rights to a massive 8,494-square-mile concession in Namibia that is nearly the size of New Hampshire. With a gross unrisked prospective resource of some 1.6 billion BOE (barrels of oil equivalent) and advanced exploration technologies (http://ibn.fm/QodAh) such as amplified geochemical imaging and the combination of hydrocarbon seepage analysis with passive seismic tomography, ANE has its sights set on becoming one of the world’s lowest cost finders of hydrocarbons. ANE estimates that its holistic multi-layer exploration approach could yield an above average discovery rate on wells drilled post discovery and is targeting dry-well drilling costs, which are half that of the average cost per foot in Texas.

The Aziza Coin offering, begun in October 2018, is seeking to raise $60 million for a 10-well drilling program on the concession. With 41 billion barrels of oil and 319 trillion cubic feet of gas undiscovered in sub-Saharan Africa (http://ibn.fm/Gb4mB) and an ongoing oil boom that has seen rig counts jump back up to 2015 levels, as sector majors and wildcatters alike continue snapping up explorations rights and signing deals, the iron is now ready to strike for Aziza’s innovative funding model.

The Aziza Project team has spent the last six months or more diligently crafting the ideal formulation and structure for its funding model. The project started out by interviewing some of the best ICO advisory groups in the game today for actionable intelligence, most of which recommended taking the easy route and simply doing a utility token. However, with the team’s commitment to structuring an offering that would reward token holders as the sole economic beneficiaries of the project and a CEO who is the former finance director for Unilever’s $25 billion-plus beauty and personal care division, Aziza decided to take the time and do it the right way, while also helping to carve a path to mainstream institutions and crypto investors for such offerings.

The Aziza Project began by pursuing an Isle of Man foundation, before running into legal and regulatory pitfalls that subsequently caused the team to pursue migration to other jurisdictions such as Switzerland, Gibraltar, Malta and the UK (where the structure would’ve been deemed a collective investment scheme, requiring costly approvals). After running aground with its UK plans, the team, well behind its initially road-mapped schedule, determined that it would be best to simply fully embrace U.S. securities laws. The team then set about resolving the tax implications for non-U.S. investors by turning to the Cayman Islands as a jurisdiction. As a Cayman investment fund, the sale could still take place in compliance with U.S. securities laws, but without the potential tax implications for non-U.S. investors.

The project decided on a Wall Street lawyer who understands the traditional securities space and set a forward trajectory focused on making the project attractive to high net worth and institutional investors, hedge funds and VC companies in the crypto space. The final hurdle was discovering an exemption to the Investment Companies Act of 1940 for funds investing solely in oil, gas or mineral extraction that allowed Aziza to up the potential investor pool from 100 to 2,000.

Acquiring the capital for drilling via asset-backed security token ICO is an innovative approach to hydrocarbon development and is the kind of rapid on-ramp approach that could really catch fire in Africa. Investors will likely also be attracted to features such as the absence of fees or administrative charges, and, because the Aziza Coin is a kind of borderless alternative to securities, it also possesses a distinct geographical advantage when it comes to enticing large investors from all over the world. Furthermore, the unique structure of the Aziza Project’s offering eliminates a lot of the intermediaries and middle men that could otherwise hamper liquidity and potential returns.

It seems like the Aziza Project could go from one asset to multiple assets as investors catch on and the initial Namibia concession moves forward, especially in Africa, where over 600 million people still live without power and there is substantial unmet need for localized energy production in undeveloped areas. Such localized projects could be just the ticket for offsetting diminishing foreign aid to Africa from industrialized countries, which is being supplanted by an emphasis on trade. This is particularly true when it comes to increasing the benefits to local populations and minimizing the harm from such hydrocarbon development (http://ibn.fm/JzvVQ), as localized projects may be better for Africa (http://ibn.fm/j0YtQ).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Aziza.io

• Experienced cannabis industry experts and Master Grower at helm of state-of-the-art indoor grow facility
• Facility in prime location for expansion in business-friendly city near Toronto, Canada
• Established cannabis consultants assisting with CVG’s ACMPR application as it moves forward through Health Canada’s licensing process
• Agreement with private company to open access to retail market in Alberta, Canada, once CVG’s cannabis products are approved for sale
• Cannabis industry analysts predict potential shortfall of cannabis products in Canada as demand soars under full legalization
• Extensive brand experience and in-licensing branding opportunities for recreational cannabis products.
• Canada’s cannabis industry projected to exceed $22 billion over the coming years

Icon Exploration Inc.’s (TSX.V: IEX.H) primary objective is to create a well-diversified company focused on assessing and potentially acquiring targets in the cannabis industry. Icon Exploration recently signed a formal share exchange agreement relating to its proposed acquisition of privately held City View Green (“CVG”), a vertically integrated cannabis company incorporated under the laws of Ontario, Canada. CVG’s application to Health Canada for an Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (“ACMPR”) license is now at the in-depth review stage of the licensing process.

CVG is preparing a 40,000-square-foot growing facility near Toronto to produce pharmaceutical-grade cannabis once its ACMPR license is granted. About half of the facility will initially be outfitted with state-of-the-art LED lighting, HVAC and dehumidification systems, and automation technologies to optimize the quality, safety and consistency of cannabis production. About 4,000 square feet will be devoted to an extraction laboratory featuring an ultra-efficient CO2 supercritical extraction process with plans to include ethanol extraction technology in the future.

Another 4.3 acres remains available for future construction of up to 125,000 square feet of grow and extraction space. Production plans include producing high quality edible products, distillates, and water-soluble products for the rapidly expanding CBD-infused (cannabidiol) beverage market.

Management

Icon and CVG have assembled a talented team that includes a Master Grower with cannabis-industry experience to manage indoor grow operations and an extraction expert whose expertise in developing and launching new products was honed while working in Washington state’s cannabis sector. Having gained experience in the Washington state market the extraction expert has a number of brand ideas and recreational cannabis products that became popular in the Washington market as well as a number of in-licensing branding opportunities available to CVG. CVG has also negotiated an agreement with a private company seeking 37 retail cannabis licenses in Alberta, Canada, that provides a reciprocal exchange of shares, product, shelf space and distribution lines. Early discussions with various entities in Europe to arrange an off-take agreement for CBD oils and extracts are also underway.

Market Opportunity

The Canadian medical cannabis market has steadily been growing with an average 10 percent increase in patients each month. Now that the Canadian federal government has legalized recreational cannabis for adult users nationwide, analysts project a compound annual growth rate of nearly 78 percent from 2018 to 2021, reaching an estimated $3 billion by 2021, ArcView Market Research reports. One study from Deloitte pegged the potential economic impact of legalized medical and recreational marijuana in Canada – including transportation, licensing fees and security – at more than $22 billion over the coming years. Health Canada’s most recent data show that sales of cannabis extracts grew 961 percent in the second quarter of 2017, compared to an 89 percent increase in growth of dried cannabis during the same period.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IconExploration.net

• Large addressable market with high growth rates
• Established Blue Chip customer base across all business verticals
• Multiple accretive acquisitions in due diligence
• Established operations with strong customer base
• Acceleration of organic growth with IoT, Cloud and SaaS
• Experienced management team with M&A background and significant ownership position, incentivized to create substantial growth
• Recurring revenue acceleration through acquisition and organic growth

Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE: KNR) (OTC: OTSHF) (FSE: 1K8) specializes in the integration of smart energy technologies and solutions for North American commercial and industrial property owners and operators to help them benefit from energy cost savings and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Kontrol is a leader in the energy efficiency sector through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology and is ranked by Canadian Business and Maclean’s as the 7th fastest growing startup in 2018.

Kontrol’s leadership position is reshaping the way customers use, manage and strategically allocate energy resources to realize immediate energy savings by gaining more control over energy consumption and demand in real-time.

As the fastest growing global “fuel source,” energy efficiency is big business with industry analysts noting this multi-trillion-dollar market offers significant opportunities over the next five years. Established market segments include: energy retrofits ($71.4 billion); distributed generation ($179.9 billion); energy analytics ($33.5 billion); and greenhouse gas/carbon measurement, reduction ($1.2 trillion). Each $1 invested in energy efficiency displaces up to $3 of utility-scale transmission and distribution investment, according to the International Energy Agency.

Formed in 2015 by a group of energy veterans who recognized that the energy efficiency industry is one of the fastest growing fuel sources for the global economy, Kontrol is committed to enhancing and improving its customers sustainability objectives. In less than two years, Kontrol has grown its revenue run rate to $16 million from $1.8 million, delivering on stated goals and objectives as it seeks to continue this pattern through accretive acquisitions and the expansion of the company’s smart energy technologies.

Up to 50 percent of Kontrol’s overall revenues are recurring annually, and the company’s 2019 outlook includes strategic initiatives that will expand the company’s smart energy technologies to U.S. markets, bring additional accretive and strategic acquisitions, and accelerate recurring SaaS revenues.

Kontrol’s strategy of disciplined mergers and acquisitions includes the following highlights:

• Acquisition of Log-One Ltd.’s award-winning energy conservation technology, Energy Management System (“EMS”), an intelligent, occupancy-based heating and air-conditioning control system for commercial and multi-residential real estate. Rebranded as Kontrol EMS Technology, the company has added IoT and mobile application capabilities, creating a recurring revenue platform through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.
• Acquisition of ORTECH Consulting Inc., an engineering consulting firm specializing in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting, emission testing, air quality testing and renewable energy/power consulting.
• Acquisition of Efficiency Engineering Inc. (“EE Inc.”), which provides engineering services to industrial, municipal and commercial building owners across Canada. EE Inc. provides detailed energy efficiency analysis, energy audits, management of facility system solutions, electrical and mechanical design and energy conservation studies.
• Acquisition of MCW Dimax Ltd. (“MCX”), a firm specializing in solutions for the application of energy software to analyze the management of complex heating, ventilation and cooling systems for large residential, commercial, and mission critical real estate owners.
• Acquisition of CEM Specialties Inc. (“CEMSI”), a market leader in turn-key emission monitoring, equipment and solutions.

The company has also established entry into the North American cannabis market as a supplier of integrated energy efficiency solutions and technologies. Within this market, Kontrol is focused on assisting cannabis growers to reduce the cost of energy and support mission critical infrastructures. To date, Kontrol has secured two contracts to provide energy efficiency services with Licensed Producers in the Canadian cannabis sector.

The Kontrol Energy group of companies is currently saving its customers more than 40 million kilowatt hours of electricity per annum and providing a corresponding reduction in GHG emissions.

Kontrol’s management team includes CEO Paul Ghezzi, a leader in clean tech, renewable energy development, solar project financing and distributed generation. Ghezzi has global experience in power generation projects under Feed-in Tariff programs and Power Purchase Agreement programs for both commercial and utility-scale projects. COO Kristian Lavereau has more than 25 years of experience in the IT solutions (analytics and mobile computing), energy optimization and efficiency (intelligent control systems, solar PV, lighting). Claudio Del Vasto, CPA, CA | CFO, is a senior finance executive with an extensive background in corporate finance, strategy and business development.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.KontrolEnergy.com

• Bradford A. Young, Ph.D., MBA was recently appointed senior vice president and chief commercial officer
• A very accomplished and experienced businessman and scientist, Young has helped guide and grow both startups and large companies
• Young is expected to leverage his technical expertise and real-world experience to drive revenue growth via major partnerships and new commercialization programs

A leader in the development and commercialization of innovative, pressure-based technologies for the worldwide life sciences industry, Pressure BioSciences Inc. (OTCQB: PBIO) recently appointed Dr. Bradford A. Young as its senior vice president and chief commercial officer. The move is designed to help drive the company’s revenue growth and expand its commercialization programs by leveraging Young’s experience as both a scientist and a well-connected and experienced businessman.

Speaking about the appointment during a recent Uptick Newswire Stock Day Podcast with Everett Jolly (http://ibn.fm/Yw0lD), Pressure BioSciences CEO Richard T. Schumacher praised Young for his many accomplishments, as well as his academic and entrepreneurial background. Young has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

“He is quite a fellow. I’ve known him personally and professionally for over six years. (…) He combines the acumen, skills and experience of someone who has had both entrepreneurial as well as big company experience,” the Pressure BioSciences CEO noted in the interview.

Young joins the Pressure BioSciences management team with a solid entrepreneurial background and the experience of providing executive level consulting for strategic planning, product development and commercialization to various biomedical, diagnostic and pharmaceutical companies. In his new position as senior vice president and chief commercial officer, he will play a critical role in advancing the company’s commercialization programs and overall strategic planning, with a view toward establishing new and/or enhanced revenue opportunities and significant partnerships.

More specifically, Young will promote the company’s instruments, consumables and technology platforms with synergistic companies worldwide, with a goal of integrating Pressure BioSciences’ products into their offerings. These types of collaborations and partnerships could result in major volume sales, enabling the company to significantly boost its revenue.

“Dr. Young will be designing and implementing PBI’s commercial programs, including business development. He will be working with many companies that we believe should be and could be offering our sample preparation systems together with their own analytical instrumentation,” Schumacher said during the Stock Day Podcast. “We think this type of collaboration will let one plus one equal three. Our instruments are used to break apart samples to prepare them to be tested, while the companies he will be speaking with offer the analytical equipment that is used to test the samples. It makes total sense to put our sample preparation systems together with their analytical instruments.”

In addition to accelerating revenue growth via critical partnerships and new commercialization programs, Young will also assess multiple opportunities for expansion into new and divergent markets, optimize commercialization priorities and work to advance customer adoption.

Before joining Pressure BioSciences, Young held a number of management positions with both large and small companies, including founder and CEO of AddisonField Corporation, a biotech company developing consumer health products; vice president of business development for Nodality, a pharmaceutical services provider offering disease and drug profiling in autoimmune diseases and oncology; director of market and business development for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), one of the largest clinical reference laboratories in the U.S.; and head of market development with Celera, a personalized medicine pioneer. He also serves on the board of directors of circulating tumor cell diagnostics company Liquid Biotech, Inc., and is a selection committee member for the Stanford Predictive and Diagnostics Accelerator program.

In a recent news release announcing his appointment (http://ibn.fm/tuajI), Young voiced excitement in joining the Pressure BioSciences team at a time when he can help develop and lead commercial strategies designed to promote the company’s patented, pressure-based technology platforms while working to enhance adoption rates and sales.

“I look forward to leading the company’s commercialization and strategic partnership efforts in its highly-respected core area of pressure cycling technology (PCT) products, as well as its recently acquired PreEMT platform for improving the development of protein therapeutics. I am particularly excited to become part of PBI’s team that is developing the Company’s powerful new Ultra Shear Technology (”UST”) platform. I believe that UST can open up a vast range of market opportunities for nano-scale emulsions, including in the nutraceuticals (e.g., CBD oil), cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food industries,” he said.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.PressureBioSciences.com

• ChineseInvestors.com provides investor education products and services to the greater Chinese community
• It provides real-time market commentary and analysis in Chinese language character sets
• The company will be presenting today at the 11th Annual LD Micro Main Event

A fintech company, ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) focuses on being the top financial information website for Chinese-speaking investors. It provides an array of investor education products and services to the greater Chinese community in the U.S. and globally. The company provides its services in simplified and traditional Chinese language character sets. Established in 1999, ChineseInvestors.com is headquartered in San Gabriel, California.

ChineseInvestors.com will be a presenting company at the 11th Annual LD Micro Main Event, taking place December 4-6, 2018, at the Luxe Sunset Blvd Hotel in Los Angeles, California (http://ibn.fm/DySmd). Company CEO Warren Wang will present a corporate overview and discuss recent business highlights on December 4th at 10:30 am PT. Wang will also be available for one-on-one meetings with investors during this conference.

Formed in 2006, LD Micro is an independent resource in the microcap arena. LD Micro holds a number of events each year. These includes its Invitational, Summit and this week’s Main Event.

ChineseInvestors.com management is providing a live and recorded webcast of its presentation at the LD Micro Main Event (http://ibn.fm/cjbfd). In addition, the webcast and slide presentation will be available in the Investor Relations section on ChineseInvestors.com’s corporate website.

The company offers real-time market commentary, analysis and educational services, as well as advertising and public relations support services. It provides its services via www.ChineseFN.com. The heart of its services is the ChineseInvestors Method (http://ibn.fm/lyUYn). This method leverages a combination of a disciplined investing process, web-based tools and personalized instruction and support.

Moreover, ChineseInvestors.com offers retail, online and direct sales of hemp-based products and other health-related offerings. However, the company is focusing back on its original mission of providing financial information and services to the greater Chinese community worldwide. Therefore, it is moving ahead with its initiative to spin off its CBD division.

Today, ChineseInvestors.com announced that it recently executed a letter of intent (LOI) for an exclusive licensing agreement for VitaMist’s 100 percent natural, non-GMO, organic product line owned by BCBDG, Inc. It executed the LOI to acquire exclusive rights to all sales channels for the VitaMist product line in Asian markets domestically and globally. BCDBG will also develop an exclusive product line for ChineseInvestors.com (http://ibn.fm/lmyRq).

Wang said in a news release, “The licensing agreement with BCBDG, Inc. will be a significant development for ChineseInvestors.com, Inc.’s consumer division as we expand our product line globally and capitalize on VitaMist’s innovative spray technology, over 40 proprietary vitamin formulas, its brand recognition and its longevity in the industry.”

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ChineseInvestors.com

• Golden Developing unveiled the new software division, Greener Grows, during industry conference MJBizCon
• Greener Grows is dedicated to collecting cannabis company analytics and sharing this information for free, with the goal of helping companies enhance their processes and minimize their environmental footprints
• MJBizCon provided Golden Developing Solutions with excellent opportunities to network and increase awareness about its software products like Greener Grows and Where’s Weed

Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP) announced the launch of a new software division while attending MJBizCon in Las Vegas – a major marijuana business conference that took place from November 14 to 16.

The new division, Greener Grows (www.GreenerGrows.com), will provide valuable information to cannabis growers through an online sharing experience. The platform focuses on real industry metrics from cannabis businesses, putting together a technology and reporting system that enables multiple parts of the cannabis industry to lessen their environmental footprints.

The new tool is free for use, and it will collate data that can be used by industry representatives, regulators and cannabis professionals.

According to Golden Developing Solutions CEO Stavros Triant, MJBizCon provided wonderful opportunities for the launch of Greener Grows. The conference is a staple in terms of networking with the industry’s top innovators. While attending the event, Golden Developing Solutions strived for higher exposure and worked to build industry relationships, Triant said in a news release.

The company has two primary areas of expertise – a CBD online retail platform and a well-developed distribution network, as well as a software development area, having already developed several distinctive software products. These include a national dispensary listing, a service to help dispensaries generate sales and pre-purchase mobilized software. Golden Developing Solutions is also in the process of creating new solutions for the cannabis industry, and Greener Grows is one of them.

MJBizCon 2018 was the largest U.S. cannabis trade show, hosting participation from representatives of every industry sector. According to official information, this year’s edition had 1,027 participants and exhibitors (http://ibn.fm/oaU48), a massive increase from the first edition that took place in Denver in 2012, featuring 17 exhibitors and 400 attendees (http://ibn.fm/v91S6).

Since then, the number of states that have legalized marijuana has increased, providing new opportunities to industry representatives. According to analysts, the market in Michigan alone (the first Midwestern state to legalize cannabis) will reach $2 billion annually in just a few years. The cannabis market worldwide is expected to reach $13 billion by the end of 2018 and $32 billion in five years (http://ibn.fm/4Qw8S).

Golden Developing had two booths at MJBizCon 2018, one for its retail division and one for its software division. The software division booth also showcased Where’s Weed (www.WheresWeed.com), an online platform focused on location-based industry searches and product pre-purchasing. The community-based online resource is growing rapidly – it currently boasts roughly three million monthly pageviews. The community has a cannabis establishment directory in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Washington DC. The Where’s Weed mobile app is available for both Android and iOS devices and has been downloaded more than 80,000 times to date.

For more information, visit the company’s websites at www.PuraVidaVitamins.com and www.WheresWeed.com

• Aziza Project invests in early-stage oil and gas exploration operations in underdeveloped Southern Africa region
• Aziza’s first investment is a 20 percent stake in Africa New Energies (ANE), which is preparing to drill wells on a Montana-sized chunk of Namibia
• The company’s investment opportunity consists of a security token offering that will allow coin holders to share in company profits
• Company engineers are awaiting the results of a September bore drilled to identify where potable underground water might be located and for conclusive results from water samples being tested for the presence of hydrocarbons

Amid revived interest in the potential of Southern Africa’s oil and gas exploration prospects, Aziza Project LLC’s tokenized oil and gas fund is offering investors a foundation building opportunity to fund a new era of hope for the 630 million people who currently have no access to the power grid and typically depend on wood and paraffin for their energy needs.

The exploration-friendly policies of Namibia’s government, in particular, have created the potential for investors to see returns as planned drilling backed by Aziza Project delivers anticipated results using big data algorithms. The privately held company invests in early-stage oil and gas businesses with the aim of ethically developing hydrocarbon resources in parts of Southern Africa that are generally regarded as having underdeveloped potential.

After nearly a decade of stalled exploration, drilling in Namibia picked up dramatically this year and is expected to increase further in 2019, with experts evaluating the country’s economic growth prospects as favorable (http://ibn.fm/wwAsK). Daniel McKeown, the co-founder and managing director of oil explorer Azinam Limited, recently told investors that the drilling that has taken place to date has demonstrated beyond doubt that the region has the potential to become a new petroleum province, because all the indicators of hydrocarbons – from source-rock to structural traps – have been confirmed (http://ibn.fm/3uGYd).

Aziza Project owns 20 percent of Africa New Energies (ANE), which is preparing a program of 10 well drills on a Namibian government concession that’s roughly the size of Montana — a 22,000-square-kilometer (8,494.2-square-mile) prospective hydrocarbon resource bordering Botswana and the Kalahari Desert, with infrastructure in place for transportation to neighboring South Africa’s refineries.

Aziza Project is helping to fund the $60 million called for to develop the drilling program and to make additional investments in other early-stage oil and gas businesses by utilizing a security token initial coin offering (ICO), or security token offering, that tokenizes ANE’s asset and anticipated hydrocarbon resource.

“Our token represents what I’ve described as an indirect fractional ownership interest in the Aziza Project,” CEO Robert Pyke stated in a November NetworkNewsAudio interview (http://ibn.fm/DEOE8). “It’s a little bit different to being a shareholder, but what’s critically important is that Aziza Coin holders will be the economic beneficiaries — that means they will be able to share in any of the profits made by the Aziza Project organization.”

Pyke said a lot of the reason Namibia’s hydrocarbon potential remains underdeveloped is that South Africa’s Apartheid era created an unwillingness among investors to build resources in the region. As the political climate has changed, so have outsiders’ attitudes toward sustaining national wellbeing in the region.

“Whereas in Northern Africa, in Western Africa there are tens of thousands of wells that have been drilled, it’s practically zero — dozens — in Southern Africa. So we see it as a big untapped geography. We think the geology is exciting,” Pyke continued.

ANE rejected an unsolicited bid of $500 million last year for its concession, because the company believes that the land’s hydrocarbon prospects are worth far more to its investors. However, the bid allowed the company to establish a base valuation for the site. Aziza’s 20 percent share of ANE’s asset is therefore valued at $100 million.

“One of the biggest challenges we’ve (in the leadership team) faced is we are a security token,” Pyke said. “We are very clear that the reason we would expect people to buy an Aziza Coin is that there is the potential of making an excellent financial return. (If) the oil and gas assets produce hydrocarbons, they will appreciate in value substantially. Navigating the regulatory environment has been very time-consuming.”

ANE expects to place orders for drilling rigs and complete the environmental impact assessment for the site next year before “spudding” its first exploratory well, according to its website. The company is awaiting the results of a test bore drilled in September to establish where subsurface water and hydrocarbons might be located. As drilling continues into 2020, the company expects to complete analysis of its initial well results. By 2021, the company expects to begin planning for an IPO.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Aziza.io

• Lexaria has developed its DehydraTECH technology
• The company also has four new subsidiaries
• Lexaria recently submitted its application to Health Canada for a research license

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) is a research-driven company that has developed and out-licenses its DehydraTECH technology – a drug delivery platform. It is the only company globally with a patent issued for oral delivery of all cannabinoids. The company’s technology facilitates the delivery of bioactive substances via oral ingestion without the need for inhalational dosing or co-administration with sugars or sweeteners. Lexaria Bioscience is headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Lexaria has four new wholly owned subsidiary companies (http://ibn.fm/Z1qLM). The four subsidiaries are Lexaria CanPharm Corp., Lexaria Nicotine Corp., Lexaria Hemp Corp. and Lexaria Pharmaceutical Corp. Each of the subsidiaries are bestowed with the company’s patented DehydraTECH drug delivery platform.

The DehydraTECH drug delivery platform promotes healthier ingestion methods. It significantly improves the body’s ability to absorb cannabinoids, vitamins, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), PDE5 inhibitors, nicotine, drugs, supplements and other valuable molecules. DehydraTECH increases bioabsorption five to 10 times and reduces time of onset (http://ibn.fm/iMcqA). This drug delivery platform is patented for cannabidiol and all other non-psychoactive cannabinoids (http://ibn.fm/xOZee).

The DehydraTECH drug delivery technology may potentially apply to the treatment of nervous system diseases, including Alzheimer’s. Lexaria (while not partnering with the tobacco industry) is gauging the potential use of the technology for nicotine delivery. DehydraTECH has been shown to deliver nicotine to the brain faster than customary delivery systems.

Recently, Lexaria Bioscience submitted its application to Health Canada for a research license. In addition, the company appointed a chief legal officer. Lexaria submitted its research application under Health Canada’s Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System for the operation of a research and development (R&D) laboratory to work with cannabinoids within the company’s new Kelowna head office, now under construction. In fact, Lexaria will commence experimental work on nicotine formulations, NSAIDs, vitamins and other bioactive compounds of interest after the completion of this laboratory facility.

The construction of the new head office and laboratory is advancing fast. Lexaria expects to occupy the new facility by the end of January 2019. The company is recruiting more staff to prepare for more wide-ranging operations. Moreover, Lexaria has taken delivery of specific equipment in a separate location where it is uniting known nano-emulsification processes with its DehydraTECH drug delivery platform for enhanced performance characteristics. This work will also transition to the Kelowna laboratory upon the facility being operational and licensed.

Furthermore, Lexaria appointed Dr. Ed Ergenzinger as its above-mentioned chief legal officer. Ergenzinger was also appointed senior vice president of innovation for Lexaria. He is a U.S. licensed patent attorney, holds a doctorate in neuroscience and is an adjunct professor of law. Ergenzinger is lead author or co-author on more than 40 scientific and legal publications.

Lexaria Bioscience continues to progress in its initiatives regarding its new laboratory in Kelowna and its advancements in innovation via the DehydraTECH drug delivery platform. In essence, the company’s focus is technology for the improved delivery of bioactive compounds. With this focus, Lexaria offers significant opportunity to those interested in this new paradigm in drug delivery technology.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com

• U.S. midterm elections signal growing fortunes for cannabis industries with pro-cannabis voting, ouster of anti-cannabis attorney general
• Phivida among cannabis industry companies that enjoy stock boost in immediate wake of elections
• Phivida enthused by new FDA and DEA acceptance of natural cannabis in pharmaceuticals, which opens prospects for non-FDA administered products as well
• Company announces appointment of new senior vice president of distribution to optimize placement of its products in functional food and beverage markets

A rolling groundswell of progressive developments in the cannabis use seascape, driven by winds of change in North America’s political arenas, is underscoring the optimism of hemp-derived cannabinoid product maker Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) (OTCQX: PHVAF) as the company builds its product line with a view on the industry’s horizon.

In the immediate aftermath of November’s midterm elections in the United States, market shares of cannabis-related companies, including Phivida, “traded broadly, and in many cases sharply higher” following activity that had media publications such as Forbes (http://ibn.fm/iEon8) declaring that “Marijuana Won The Midterm Elections” and MarketWatch (http://ibn.fm/iVFQe) predicting the commencement of a “green wave.”

Among the forces driving the exuberance were news that Michigan had become the tenth state (plus Washington, DC) to legalize recreational marijuana use and that medicinal marijuana extract use won over voters in Utah and Missouri, solidly securing more than half of U.S. states in the medical use camp despite ongoing disdain at the federal level.

But even the federal government has been signaling a slow U-turn on its prohibition of cannabis use. Congressional legislators have been preparing to deregulate hemp cultivation in the agricultural industry, and the House of Representatives’ swing toward the Democratic camp in the elections likely assures that it will happen in the near future, if agreements stall this year. Cannabis advocates also celebrated the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nation’s top law enforcement official, noted for his opposition to cannabis legalization, following the elections.

Phivida also celebrated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of the first pharmaceutical with natural cannabis as an ingredient, which forced the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify cannabidiol (CBD) from its restricted Schedule 1 drug status to the far more legally accessible Schedule 5, albeit on a basis limited only to products approved by the FDA (http://ibn.fm/yLcUA).

“We see this reclassification of CBD in pharmaceuticals as a good sign that will bolster the growing awareness of CBD as a substance that delivers many benefits, and opens the door for other CBD-based treatments, in line with the recent FDA approval of a drug to treat childhood epilepsy,” Phivida President and CEO Jim Bailey stated in a news release. “Phivida is launching its Oki line of functional beverages which provide a spectrum of non-psychoactive phytocannabinoids through infusion with active hemp extract. While our Oki and Vida+ product lines are not subject to FDA approval, as we grow to have product on shelves in all 50 states, we will benefit from the increased acceptance of the efficacy of cannabis and hemp products.”

Phivida launched its Oki brand (www.FeelOki.com) of active hemp-infused functional beverages and supplements on September 12, anticipating consumer availability in up to 2,400 natural specialty stores nationwide, which could include access to major chains such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Walmart, Publix and Albertsons. The company’s Vida+ brand (www.HempVidaPlus.com) of CBD hemp oil extracts, tinctures and capsules target a broad market, and the company’s August 15 announcement that it will partner with licensed Canadian medical marijuana producer WeedMD Inc. (TSX.V: WMD) (OTCQX: WDDMF) (FSE: 4WE) to establish Cannabis Beverages Inc. (“CanBev”) opens even further possibilities in the Canadian market (http://ibn.fm/AUZbR).

On November 2, Phivida announced the appointment of Greg McCauley as its senior vice president of distribution (http://ibn.fm/fg3kz) to optimize the company’s presence in the high-growth premium functional food and beverage markets.

“He has a solid track record of building distribution networks to launch new brands and realign established brands in the United States and Canada and has consistently beat operational targets,” Bailey noted. “Greg will initially focus on building out the U.S. distribution market for our Oki beverage and health supplement line in conjunction with our partners at Acosta/Natural Specialty Sales.”

McCauley brings with him over 30 years of professional networking and experience in the consumer products industry with major brands such as Jägermeister, Muscle Milk and Red Bull.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Phivida.com