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Abaca

Abaca executives and employees pose for a group photo outside a branch of the North Little Rock Public Library System
Banking & Finance / Business Services

After $30M Merger, Abaca Says Mission Remains the SameLock Icon

In the weeks after Arkansas cannabis financial firm Abaca was acquired for that amount by Colorado’s SHF Holdings Inc. late last year, Abaca co-founder Dan Roda says in some ways, very little. read more >
Rendering for 50 West 66th Street in New York. Construction is backed in large part by an $800 million loan from Bank OZK.
Banking & Finance / Construction / Energy

A Few of My Favorite Things (Lance Turner Editor’s Note)

Some overlooked but important Arkansas Business stories from the preceding year. read more >
Abaca executives and employees pose for a group photo outside a branch of the North Little Rock Public Library System
Banking & Finance / Business Services / Public Companies

Abaca Agrees to $30M Acquisition, Will Keep Its Brand and NLR Base

The deal gives the buyer, Colorado-based Safe Harbor Financial, access to more than 300 accounts. read more >
Dan Roda, CEO of Abaca, saw a “huge disconnect” in the banking industry when he realized that cannabis companies were having problems opening accounts. Five years later, Abaca handles banking for 90% of Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry.
Banking & Finance

Abaca Expands Services to California

Cannabis banking firm Abaca of North Little Rock announced it has expanded services to California through a partnership with Pacific Valley Bank of Salinas. The partnership offers a single point […] read more >
(From left) Wayne Miller, executive director of the Venture Center; Mimi San Pedro, chief strategy officer for the Venture Center; and Larry Wilson, CEO and chairman of the board of First Arkansas Bank & Trust.
 
Banking & Finance / Small Business

Bankers, Fintech to Connect at August Summit

The conference, hosted by the Venture Center of Little Rock, aims to be a networking opportunity and a place for Arkansas fintech companies to showcase their products. read more >
Dan Roda, co-founder and CEO of Abaca in North Little Rock.
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

Abaca Lands $1.35M InvestmentLock Icon

The company will use the money to “keep fueling our national expansion,” said CEO Dan Roda. read more >
Banking & Finance / Business Services / Media & Marketing

What’s Neo? A Digital Banking Trend

Neobanks offer digital and nontraditional banking services through an app or platform, with no physical branches. read more >
Dan Roda, CEO of Abaca, saw a “huge disconnect” in the banking industry when he realized that cannabis companies were having problems opening accounts. Five years later, Abaca handles banking for 90% of Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry.
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

Neobanking: Abaca Reads Smoke SignalsLock Icon

Here's how central Arkansas was an incubator at the beginning of marijuana fintech. read more >
Mohamed O. Elasri of UAMS in Little Rock
Banking & Finance / Education / Health Care

Elasri Fills Vice Chancellor Slot at UAMS (Movers & Shakers)

Mohamed O. Elasri has been named associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. read more >
Dan Roda, co-founder and CEO of Abaca in North Little Rock.
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance

Cannabis Banking Firm Abaca Surpasses $2B in Commerce

Growth has come at a blazing pace for the company. read more >
Curtis Winar of Frost PLLC in Little Rock acknowledges the main headache in accounting for the cannabis industry: “I mean, it’s still illegal on the federal side, and that complicates certain rules on what a company can deduct for tax purposes.”
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

Rolling Those Numbers: Winar Is Arkansas’ Cannabis CPA

Arkansas medical marijuana retailers have generated $190 million in sales since May 2019. Accounting for them is a challenge and an opportunity, professionals say. read more >
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

Marijuana Cultivator Turns Down Dispensary Over Cash PolicyLock Icon

Hot Springs dispensary owner Dragan Vicentic's penchant for paying for cannabis in cash, disdaining electronic payments, gives marijuana cultivator reason for blacklisting. read more >
Dan Roda, co-founder and CEO of Abaca in North Little Rock.
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

AgHeritage Hires Craig, Pieroni (Movers & Shakers)

Dalton Craig and John David have joined AgHeritage Farm Credit Services in Little Rock as credit analyst trainees. read more >
Josh Baker of Citizens Bank in Hot Springs
Banking & Finance / Business Services / Investments

Baker Advances at Citizens Bank (Movers & Shakers)

Josh Baker has been promoted to city president for Citizens Bank in Hot Springs. read more >
Government & Politics / Health Care / Media & Marketing

Finding Some Oases Amid Ad Drought

The advertising gods giveth, and they taketh away, particularly these days. read more >
Vince Laborde, Sean Russell and Mara Williams of Abaca in North Little Rock
Banking & Finance / Business Services / Investments

Laborde, Russell and Williams Join Abaca (Movers & Shakers)

Vince Laborde, Sean Russell and Mara Williams are new members of Abaca, a cannabis financial technology firm based in North Little Rock. read more >
Brian Bauer
Banking & Finance / Health Care

Brian Bauer Leaving Venture Center for Cannabis Fintech Firm Role

Cannabis financial technology firm Abaca Co-founder Brian Bauer is transitioning to a full-time role with Abaca as the chief strategy and revenue officer. read more >
Dan Roda, co-founder and CEO of Abaca in North Little Rock.
Agriculture & Poultry / Banking & Finance / Business Services

Abaca Fires Up Services for Cannabis Commerce

A North Little Rock enterprise, launched in the Little Rock Technology Park and given flight with venture capital from Colorado, keeps pioneering its way into the burgeoning billions of cannabis commerce. read more >
Elizabeth Michael beat the clock to head public relations for Little Rock's recently-opened AC Hotel.
Investments / Media & Marketing / Tourism

Michael’s AC Hotel Score a Last-Minute SuccessLock Icon

Elizabeth Michael, a partner in the Bark Bar and a PR veteran in Little Rock, describes how the newly opened AC Hotel in downtown Little Rock came to be her client. read more >
Adam Grimmett of Growbrite Risk Management has carved out a space insuring marijuana dispensaries, cultivators and related businesses.
Agriculture & Poultry / Business Services / Government & Politics

Growbrite Finds a Green Niche, Insuring Mounds of MarijuanaLock Icon

Adam Grimmett’s reason for insuring Arkansas’ new medicinal marijuana industry is personal. An Afghan war veteran, he wants to help ex-service members. read more >