{"id":9636,"date":"2023-04-24T23:05:29","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T23:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=5637242"},"modified":"2023-04-24T23:05:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T23:05:29","slug":"colorado-becomes-one-of-first-states-to-offer-business-loans-to-cannabis-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-becomes-one-of-first-states-to-offer-business-loans-to-cannabis-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado becomes one of first states to offer business loans to cannabis industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-becomes-one-of-first-states-to-offer-business-loans-to-cannabis-industry\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/colorado-becomes-one-of-first-states-to-offer-business-loans-to-cannabis-industry.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Colorado became one of the first states in the country to offer business loans to the cannabis industry on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Jared Polis\u2018 administration launched the program in an effort to target Colorado\u2019s social-equity licensed cannabis businesses. It will offer loans between $50,000 and $150,000 to go toward renovations, equipment, expansions and more.<\/p>\n<p>The program will be treated as a revolving loan fund, with interest returning to it. As a result, the initial $1 million put into the program is predicted to yield $2.9 million over the next decade.<\/p>\n<p>The program \u201cwill create and retain 239 good-paying jobs and promote equity in the cannabis industry by providing growing businesses access to funding,\u201d Polis said. \u201cI am committed to saving small businesses money and ensuring our state remains a great place to start and run a business in every industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Forty states and Washington, D.C, have legalized medical marijuana, but cannabis businesses are hamstrung by the absence of federal legalization because it impacts their access to banking services such as loans.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, payroll services company Paychex recently announced that it won\u2019t cater to cannabis businesses, as of May 1. According to a corporate memo, these businesses \u201ccontinue to face significant banking obstacles because major banks will not allow electronic fund transfers\u201d to their networks, due to differing state and federal regulations around cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>To qualify for Colorado\u2019s new loan program, the recipient must be considered a social equity licensed cannabis business with a regulated business license from the Marijuana Enforcement Division.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\"> <\/aside>\n<p>The Cannabis Business Loan Program is aimed at larger businesses, but other options exist for startups, like the Cannabis Business Grant.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s Cannabis Business Office partnered on the new endeavor with Portland-based NuProject, which offers funding, coaching and networking to historically-underserved cannabis entrepreneurs. NuProject has put forward $2.3 million in loans and grants since it was established in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen cannabis business owners have access to financial support and the know-how to put that funding to work, they can run better businesses and have the opportunity to build generational wealth through the cannabis industry,\u201d said CEO Jeannette Ward Horton.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/newsletters\">Want to get the latest marijuana news from around the country? Sign up for The Cannabist, our weekly newsletter, now.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Update at 4:25 p.m.:<\/strong> Because of incorrect information provided by Colorado\u2019s Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Governor\u2019s Office, this story was updated to reflect that Colorado was one of the first U.S. states \u2014 and not the first \u2014 to offer business loans to the cannabis industry. Illinois operates its own social equity cannabis loan program.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>The state will offer loans between $50,000 and $150,000 to go toward renovations, equipment, expansions and more <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6913,5062,52,7347,8167,854,7938,77,56,9,5019,7319,6935,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6914,5063,2632,7348,8168,3427,7939,2655,2636,5022,7320,6936],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9636"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}