{"id":9,"date":"2026-04-02T15:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granted.tech\/blog\/?p=9"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:03:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:03:46","slug":"granted-announces-partnership-with-tmus-fashion-zone-to-accelerate-funding-for-creative-and-retail-tech-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/granted.tech\/blog\/granted-announces-partnership-with-tmus-fashion-zone-to-accelerate-funding-for-creative-and-retail-tech-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"GRANTED Announces Partnership with TMU\u2019s Fashion Zone to Accelerate Funding for Creative and Retail Tech Startups"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TORONTO, ON \u2014 April 2nd, 2026<\/strong> \u2014 GRANTED Technologies Inc<\/strong>.<\/a>, the AI-powered grant discovery and writing co-pilot, is thrilled to announce a strategic community partnership with The Fashion Zone at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)<\/a>, Canada\u2019s fastest-growing fashion and technology incubator. Because of the platform’s sector-agnostic capabilities, this partnership is also being amplified across TMU\u2019s entire Zone Learning Network<\/a>, equipping founders from all 10 campus zones\u2014spanning STEM, retail, and creative tech\u2014with the AI infrastructure they need to easily secure non-dilutive capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Securing funding can be notoriously challenging and intimidating for early-stage entrepreneurs. Founders often spend hundreds of hours navigating fragmented grant portals and writing tedious applications instead of building their products and growing their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRANTED removes this friction. By leveraging specialized AI trained on strict Canadian grant criteria and a proprietary database of over 1,500 funding opportunities, GRANTED matches founders to highly relevant grants. Instead of just pointing founders to a portal, GRANTED’s AI acts as a true co-pilot, generating up to 80% of the complex application narrative and saving founders hundreds of hours. Additionally, GRANTED equips accelerator directors with a centralized dashboard to track their cohorts’ real-time funding success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Having worked deeply within the university accelerator ecosystem, I know firsthand the barriers founders face when trying to capitalize their visions,” says Justina Kanza, CEO and Founder of GRANTED. “Creative, retail, and STEM startups are incredibly innovative, yet the grant process is incredibly overwhelming. We are thrilled to partner with The Fashion Zone and the broader TMU Zone Learning Network to put our AI directly into the hands of these brilliant founders, helping them secure the funding they deserve.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to partner with GRANTED because it tackles one of the biggest hidden bottlenecks for early-stage founders – accessing non-dilutive capital without adding more work to their plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Fashion Zone, we see firsthand how much time founders lose navigating complex grant processes instead of building and scaling their ventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRANTED flips that dynamic by making grant discovery and writing faster, smarter, and more accessible.\u201d says Angelique Bowen-Achong, Program Coordinator at the Fashion Zone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnership Kick-Off Events & Exclusive Perks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To officially launch the partnership and introduce the new platform, GRANTED will be hosting two major events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n