The fund will provide 50 diverse entrepreneurs the capital to become a Curio Wellness Center franchisee.

Curio Wellness, a cGMP certified medical cannabis and wellness company, announced today the formation of a $30 million investment fund to provide start-up capital for up to 50 minority entrepreneurs. (BusinessWire)

Women, minorities, and disabled veterans can use the capital to set up a Curio Wellness franchise location. These would be situated in states with medical cannabis programs. This way, the company, too, would further its goal of serving patients with cannabis-based medicine in multiple states through a retail business model.

Economic disparity; cannabis financing

“In looking at the systemic barriers that women, minorities, and disabled veterans face in accessing capital, we decided to develop a solution that directly addresses this massive economic disparity,” said Michael Bronfein, CEO. “The Fund provides qualifying entrepreneurs with the investment capital they need to become a Curio Wellness Center franchisee while ensuring their success through our best in class business operations.”

A selected entrepreneur will receive enough capital to finance 93% of the total start-up cost of the company franchise. The founder would be a majority owner of this branded cannabis and wellness dispensary from day one.

Medical cannabis is a fast-growing industry with good future potential. However, banks and other usual funding agencies look askance at cannabis as a business. Therefore, they do not provide loans or capital to entrepreneurs in the sector.

Curio Wellness – Economic empowerment

In these circumstances, the fund will help develop small retail businesses run by a wide and diverse swathe of founders.

“The Fund will expand diversity and enable economic empowerment for entrepreneurs who otherwise would be locked out of the rapidly growing field,” said Jerel Registre, Director of Business Development at Curio Wellness and Managing Director of the Fund. “Our diverse set of entrepreneurs will repay the startup loans with their portion of the dispensary earnings, resulting in 100% ownership as a franchisee over time.”

Franchise model

Speaking to Tech Crunch, Registre said the Curio Wellness model was similar to that of Mcdonald’s (NYSE: MCD).

Mcdonald’s gives its chain of franchisees ongoing support and an established and standard operating procedure.

Curio Wellness will, initially, help its franchisee with capital, selection of a location, obtaining licenses, and hiring and training employees.

Once the start-up is operational, the company will help with management, sales and marketing, store operations, and product updates.

The fund will take applications from early 2021.

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