The 1937 Group, Ltd. (www.the1937group.com), the first minority-owned, vertically integrated cannabis company in Illinois, announced it is launching a Cannabis Incubator Program to help members of the community apply for a social equity license. 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 percent of current Illinois dispensaries are majority BIPOC owned. This statistic is more than just disheartening—it’s disgraceful,” says Ambrose Jackson, CEO of The 1937 Group. “Illinois has already recorded over $3 billion in recreational cannabis sales with almost zero minority representation,” he adds. “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 Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will 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.
