Chicago, IL--The 1937 Group, Ltd., a vertically-integrated cannabis company, announced in a news release that it is launching a Cannabis Incubator Program to help community members apply for a social equity license. The release noted that the State of Illinois recently announced it is awarding 55 Social Equity Dispensary Licenses in 2023.
The Cannabis Incubator will offer a wide range of resources and assistance in collaboration with The 1937 Foundation and Parkway Dispensary.
Assistance includes:
- Business formation
- Legal templates/agreements
- Documentation review
- Dispensary site selection
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
- Investor connections
- Marketing planning and development
- Supply chain strategy
"Currently, just 2% of current Illinois dispensaries are majority BIPOC owned. This statistic is more than just disheartening – it's disgraceful," Ambrose Jackson, CEO of The 1937 Group, said in the news release. "Illinois has already recorded over $3 billion in recreational cannabis sales with almost zero minority representation," he added. "As a leading minority-owned cannabis company, our mission is to help change this paradigm and drive the betterment of our communities through representation and ownership in this privileged, corporate-dominated industry."
The release added that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) would begin accepting applications for 55 conditional cannabis dispensary licenses on Monday, January 30, 2023. The licenses will be distributed across 17 Bureau of Labor Statistics Regions.
To help social equity applicants get started, The 1937 Group hosted a free informational webinar on January 4 at 5:30 PM CST. The webinar provided an overview of the application and Social Equity criteria, plus information and resources from individuals who have navigated the process.