St. Paul, MN – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) today announced $3.6 million in funding to help businesses enter Minnesota's new adult-use cannabis industry, and to train workers for jobs in the cannabis field.

Two of /deed/business/cannabis/index.jspDEED's programs – CanNavigate and CanStartup – will provide technical assistance and increase access to capital for business owners looking to start and expand cannabis businesses in Minnesota. The third – CanTrain – provides grants to workforce training organizations to offer job training to Minnesotans looking to work in the cannabis industry. These programs are aligned to promote and ensure strategic ways for Minnesotans to enter the cannabis industry in a healthy and legal manner.

DEED's three programs came out of the 2023 legislative session when lawmakers legalized adult-use cannabis in Minnesota. DEED is working closely with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and other state agencies to support business owners seeking licenses to operate in Minnesota and to contribute to Minnesota's cannabis sector.

"Legal adult-use cannabis is an exciting new industry for Minnesota businesses and workers, and DEED's job is to make sure they have an accessible on-ramp," said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek.  "We're committed to ensuring social equity in the cannabis industry, working alongside our regulatory partners securing market integrity, and supporting Minnesota's community-focused lenders and workforce development organizations around the state."

Program details and grantees are below. Grantees will set up their programs and begin serving customers in the months ahead, after finalizing contracts with DEED. 

CanNavigate provides grants to community-based entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) and organizations with cannabis regulatory experts to help individuals navigate the regulatory structure of operating a business in the legal cannabis industry. There is an emphasis on serving individuals whose social equity status has been verified and people facing barriers to employment. Grantees include:

• Minnesota Association of Black Cannabis Professionals and Communities United Through Justice and Inclusion - $400,000
• Minnesota Cannabis Institute - $234,601
• Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers - $308,935

CanStartup provides grants to nonprofit lenders to fund loans for new cannabis microbusinesses. The program prioritizes social equity applicants and supports job creation in communities where long-term residents are eligible as social equity applicants. Grantees include:

• Propagate Community Development Corporation   - $500,000
• Seward Redesign, Inc. - $100,000
• WomenVenture - $500,000

CanTrain provides grants to eligible organizations to create and implement workforce development programs to provide support, navigation services and training to individuals leading to a relevant career in the legal cannabis industry. Grantees include:

• Minneapolis Community and Technical College - $403,530
• Minnesota Training Partnerships - $126,116
• Minnesota Cannabis College - $250,000  
• Urban League Twin Cities - $320,000
• White Earth Tribal and Community College - $500,000

OCM has two grant programs that complement those from DEED: CanRenew, which helps fund projects addressing a range of community needs, including economic development, public health, violence prevention, youth development and civil legal aid; and CanGrow, which provides grants to eligible organizations to help farmers navigate the regulatory structure of the legal cannabis industry and to nonprofits to fund loans to farmers for expansion in the industry. The Office announced grants for CanRenew on Thursday, August 21.