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Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program Round 3

DCEO’s Office of Economic Equity & Empowerment (OE3) will begin accepting applications for Round 3 of the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Loans will be provided to qualified, licensed social equity craft growers, infusers, transporters, and adult-use dispensing organizations.

Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program

At the core of DCEO’s Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program is an unwavering commitment to the State’s efforts to promote equity and diversity in Illinois’ growing cannabis industry. This means ensuring entrepreneurs that have been impacted by the war on drugs have a space in Illinois’ cannabis industry.

DCEO developed the Direct Forgivable Loan (DFL) Program in response to feedback from license holders that continue to face systemic barriers to accessing capital and becoming operational.  Direct Forgivable Loans are fully financed by the State of Illinois. DCEO offers a grace period, low interest rates, and full principal forgiveness upon receiving proof of eligible expenses.

Interest Rates are 4% after an 18-month grace period of no required payments and 0% interest; applicants can also pursue forgiveness prior to any interest accruing. The loan principal is 100% forgivable upon providing documentation for eligible business expenses.

Eligible Applicants

All Qualified Social Equity Applicant Craft Growers, Infusers, and Transporters (as certified by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA)), and Social Equity Applicant Adult-Use Dispensing Organizations (as certified by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)) that were issued a license through the 2020 application round that closed January 1, 2020, and its Qualified Applicant Lottery (held July 29, 2021), Social Equity Justice-Involved Lottery (held August 5, 2021) and Tied Applicant Lottery (held August 19, 2021), including any corrective lotteries are eligible to participate in the direct forgivable loan program.. If your license received a loan in Rounds 1 or 2, you are welcome to apply. However, priority will be given to licenses that have not previously received a loan from the Department.

FAQ's and Information Webinar

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document with questions about the loan process is available.

Applicants are encouraged to attend one of DCEO’s webinars.  

Round III Overview Webinar: Thursday, August 21, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Webinar Recording

Application Review Webinar: Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Office Hours: Thursday, September 18, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Registration link: https://bit.ly/3JiZRXD

Application Instructions

Applicants must fill out the documents outlined below and complete the loan application by Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Late submissions will not be reviewed or accepted. Complete instructions are detailed in the Cannabis Round 3 Loan Application Introduction.

Loan application:
https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0055496a4f8744a28c399591f3ccbbe5

Application Components

Please direct any questions about the application via email to: CEO.CannabisLoan@illinois.gov.