The Cartier Women’s Initiative is calling for application from women who runs and own impact-driven businesses. It is an opportunity for women entrepreneurs across all sectors from all over the world.
The Cartier Women’s Initiative is an annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2006 by Cartier. Since then, it has been open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aims to have a strong sustainable social and/or environmental impact.
The initiative selects a total of 21 fellows from 7 regions of the world: Latin America & the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania.
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Benefit Of The Cartier Women’s Initiative
The 21 fellows representing the top three businesses from each of the seven regions, will receive financial, human, and social capital supports. Amongst others, some of the support include;
- US$ 100,000 grant for each of the 7 laureates (top business from each region).
- US$ 30,000 grant for each of the 14 finalists (2nd and 3rd runner-up businesses from each region).
- Community peer learning sessions
- A scholarship to attend a one-week INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Programme pending admission based on INSEAD’s eligibility criteria and selection process.
- International exposure & media visibility
- Access to an online & offline community of 500+ experts and peers
- Ongoing support for the development of the fellows’ businesses.
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Eligibility Criteria
To be considered for the Regional Awards, your business must meet the following eligibility criteria:
For-profit: your business should be designed to generate sufficient revenues to support its operations and return some level of profit. Non-profit enterprises are not accepted.
Early-stage: your business should have a proven business model and be in the initial phase of its development and growth (between 1 and 5 years of licensed/registered operations). It is for businesses that have been incorporated between August 2015 and August 2019. Also, a company that is majority-owned by founders and employees at the time of application.
Revenue Generation: your business should currently be generating revenue from the sales of its products and/or services for at least 1 year as of the date of application. Although the revenue may not profit in its first years of operations.
Fundraising: the business should not have raised more than US$2 million in dilutive funding. The Regional Awards cap the funds raised in order to ensure that the businesses selected fall within a similar range of development. Please note that businesses that have not raised any external funding are also welcome to apply.
Impact: the business should meet at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Leadership: A woman must fill the main leadership position, for example, as CEO, General Manager, or Director of the company.
Ownership: The founder needs to be a woman and must be the largest shareholder of founder equity in the company or own a share at least equal to that of her co-founder(s).
See Also: Business funding opportunities for women owned businesses.
How To apply
To apply to the Regional Awards, you need to complete the online application form and provide the following documents.
- Resume
- Business registration document
- A pitch deck: there is no specific format, just submit an existing pitch deck that accurately describes the impact of your business. This can be an investor presentation or a product presentation (it should not be more than 15 pages).
- A one-minute video of yourself stating;
-Your motivation behind solving the problem that you have identified
-The impact you wish to create through your solution
-What you wish to gain/contribute to the Cartier Women’s Initiative community
You can also submit 3 additional attachment of your choice which includes; image of product, brochure, press, article, research, etc. (optional)
Please note: These documents must be submitted on the online portal in the “Attachments” section and cannot be sent separately by email.
Selection Process For The Cartier Women’s Initiative
Selection Criteria
The Jury will evaluate the applications based on the following criteria:
- Market analysis and fit
- Financial and business model sustainability
- The leadership team and character of the founder
- Strategy and execution
- Embedded positive social impact
- Commitment to Cartier Women’s Initiative
- Quality of submission.
Selection Process
The selection process is divided into two rounds: the finalist’s selection and the laureates’ selection.
Round 1: The jury selects 21 finalists; the top three applicants from each of the regions on the basis of their application form.
Round 2: The 21 finalists are invited to the final round. This will include submitting further business information and presenting your business in front of Cartier’s regional jury panel during the preparatory training week. Then, one laureate for each of the seven regions is selected.
The announcement of the 7 laureates for the Regional Awards, along with the laureate for the Science and Technology Pioneer Award, will take place during the Awards Ceremony.
The application for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards closes on 31st July, 2020 by 2pm Paris time (CEST). So, if you are a woman entrepreneur operating an impact based business, this is for you. Follow this link below to learn more and register. https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/regional-awards
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