New York’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries (CAURD) licensees will now have access to loans of up to $100,000 in a push to give the ‘intended beneficiaries of the new market… the resources they need to truly succeed’.

The New York Department of Small Business Services (SBS), the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), and the Cannabis NYC announced the launch of a new loan fund for small cannabis businesses last week.

Cannabis-focused private equity firm Tuatara Capital will manage the fund, which will have an initial deployment of $2m in funding.

Applications for the first phase of the loans, which are meant to be used to fund for start-up and ongoing operating expenses and will be capped at a 9.5% interest rate, will be open from November 04, 2024, and can be accessed through the Loan Fund website.

The second tranche is expected to launch in the spring of 2025 with ‘at least’ $6m available, seeing an expansion of the fund’s size through additional capital partners with a view to financing early-stage and more mature licensed businesses.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams conceded that despite programs designed to give communities who have been hit hardest by the war on drugs a head-start in New York’s legal cannabis market, ‘for too long the intended beneficiaries of the new market have not been given the resources they need to truly succeed’.

“That is why our administration has been laser focused on creating an environment where legal businesses are able to thrive. With the launch of the ‘Cannabis NYC Loan Fund,’ we are giving up to $2 million in capital directly to the entrepreneurs who need it and reducing the hurdles to establishing a thriving business.

“Together, with our successful ‘Operation Padlock to Protect’ effort—which has already closed over 1,200 illegal cannabis shops—and our numerous programs to support legal operators through Cannabis NYC, we are carving a bright path for legal cannabis businesses in New York City.”

The Cannabis NYC Loan Fund is part of a broader range of resources available to legal cannabis operators, including the property location program NYC Lease, the Create Initiative workforce development program, and business assistance and educational training programs.