Entrepreneurial Leadership and Cannabis Entrepreneurship in South Africa: Insights From the Cannabis Master Plan and SMME Performance Literature

This study synthesises two complementary investigations Cannabis Master Plan (NCM) implementation challenges and SMME leadership performance in Limpopo's Vhembe District to analyse how entrepreneurial leadership drives cannabis SMME success under South Africa's NCM, promoting inclusive growth amid regulatory barriers. Grounded in constructivism, this qualitative synthesis integrates semi-structured interviews with 16 cannabis entrepreneurs (snowball sampled to saturation) and SMME leadership narratives from Vhembe District. Data were analysed via ATLAS.ti thematic analysis, triangulating cannabis commercialisation challenges with leadership dynamics. A "cannabis divide" marginalises rural growers via R25,000 licensing fees, R6 million+ infrastructure costs, SAHPRA ambiguity, stigma, and cultivation knowledge gaps. Transformational leadership reframes legitimacy; servant leadership enables inclusive hiring for 10,000–25,000 jobs; adaptive/participative approaches foster cooperatives, value-added innovation (hemp biofuels, textiles), and formalisation. Snowball sampling and cross-sectional design limit generalizability; findings merit longitudinal, quantitative validation across provinces to test leadership-policy synergies. SMME leaders should adopt hybrid approaches through cooperatives and training; policymakers must subsidise rural access, establish compliance hubs, and integrate leadership development into the NCM rollout to drive equitable R28 billion industry growth. First integration of cannabis policy and SMME leadership studies, revealing entrepreneurial leadership as the catalyst bridging policy disconnects and 60-80% SMME failures, with actionable insights for rural empowerment.