diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 0876f2f..e7be74d 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ python = "^3.9"
 numpy = "^1.18.3"
 scipy = "^1.4.1"
 scikit-learn = "^1"
-importlib-metadata = "^7.1.0"
+importlib-metadata = ">=7.1.0"
 
 # docs
 sphinx = {version = "^5", optional = true}