Ascend Wellness Partners with NuProject to Introduce ROOTS

NEW YORK – Ascend Wellness Holdings announced it had teamed up with the non-profit NuProject to launch a six-month business readiness program called ROOTS (Readying Opportunities for Operational & Trade Sustainability).

The initiative targets licensed Cannabis operators and ancillary businesses, with initial focus on plant-touching companies in Massachusetts and New Jersey and broader reach for service providers across North America. Participants will work through coaching sessions, a self-paced curriculum and guidance from finance and accounting specialists to tighten cash-flow management, sharpen leadership practices and map out growth strategies. The cohort, which begins in May, ends with a chance for selected businesses to present directly to buyers and partners in Ascend’s supply chain network. Applications opened immediately and run through May 11.

Danielle Drummond, Ascend’s vice president of social equity, described the program as an extension of the company’s CO-LAB efforts to build a more balanced industry. “Creating strong relationships between large and small businesses is the way our industry thrives,” she said in the joint announcement.

Jeannette Ward, CEO of NuProject, noted that landing contracts with major customers often hinges on preparation and access that many founders lack. “We are thrilled to have a partnership with Ascend that provides the resources to build up a cohort of founders with the skills and preparation needed to be successfully positioned for growth,” Ward said.

NuProject, founded in 2018, has already distributed $4.9 million in mission-based loans and grants while delivering more than 5,000 hours of coaching to historically excluded Cannabis entrepreneurs. Ascend Wellness, for its part, operates cultivation and retail assets across seven states and has logged its own social-equity record: more than 60 expungement clinics, nearly $2 million donated to community groups and support for over 150 social-equity and minority-business enterprises.

The ROOTS program showcases a proactive approach that larger operators are embracing to broaden their supplier base while addressing long-standing equity shortfalls. Time will tell if these efforts will translate into measurable contract wins for participants, but the program’s structure (targeted training paired with direct procurement exposure) offers a workable model for moving capital and operational know-how downstream in a still-maturing market.