Cartier Women's Initiative Awards

The Cartier Women's Initiative, created in 2006, are a joint partnership project initiated by Cartier, the Women's Forum, McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school to encourage women entrepreneurs.

Process
Seven laureates (formerly six), one from each continental region (East Asia, South Asia & Oceania, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, North America, Sub-saharan Africa) are honoured annually for the creativity, financial sustainability and social impact of their start-up businesses.

The prize includes a place on an INSEAD executive programme, a US$100,000 grant (before 2017, $20,000), international media exposure and networking and coaching opportunities.

History of the awards
In 2006, Cartier supported the very first edition of the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society, an international gathering designed to promote women's vision on issues of global relevance.

In 2006, Cartier and the Women's Forum joined forces with McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school to create the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards that aim to support female entrepreneurs through mentoring, funding, networking opportunities and media visibility.

The very first Laureates were awarded in 2007. Since the creation of the Award, 32 entrepreneurs have received the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards.

Competition
Phase I - Three finalists from each of the seven regions (Latin America, North America, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, East Asia and South Asia & Oceania) are selected in the first round of the competition. These 21 finalists receive coaching to move to the next phase where they submit a detailed business plan and defend their projects verbally in front of the jury.

Phase II - The 21 finalists are invited to attend the Awards Week and the seven laureates are nominated during the Awards Ceremony which up until 2015, was traditionally held at the Annual Global Meeting of the Women's Forum in Deauville.

The finalists and laureates are selected by regional juries composed of entrepreneurs, economists, business men and women, entrepreneurship advocates etc. They are chosen on the basis of their entrepreneurial experience, their business achievements and their commitment to the support of women entrepreneurs. The jury's involvement is long-term and voluntary.

The coaching of the finalists and laureates is conducted by Cartier managers, McKinsey & Company consultants, INSEAD alumni and INSEAD MBA students.

Women of any nationality, sector of industry and country may apply.

2019

 * Latin America, Liza Velarde, Mexico. Delee - A blood test that detects the presence of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in cancer patients, enabling physicians to better monitor progress of the disease.
 * North America, Ran Ma, United States. Siren - Smart socks for diabetics made of Neurofabric, a proprietary technology fitted with micro-sensors to monitor foot temperature and guard against foot ulcers.
 * Europe, Zineb Agoumi, France. EzyGain - An affordable space-saving and connected gait rehabilitation device that secures patients at the pelvis and monitors their progress.
 * Sub-Saharan Africa, Manka Angwafo, Cameroon. Grassland Cameroon Ltd. - Services to enhance African food supply chains through affordable asset-based financing to smallholder farmers.
 * Middle-East and North Africa, Hibah Shata, UAE. Maharat Learning Center - A learning centre offering behavioural therapy and educational support to children and young adults with special needs.
 * East Asia, Yeon Jeong Cho, South Korea. SAY Global – An online language service that trains retired seniors in Korea and connects them to Korean language learners worldwide.
 * South Asia & Oceania, Carmina Bayombong, Philippines. InvestEd – An investment platform providing student loans to underserved youth using a proprietary credit rating algorithm.

2018

 * Latin America, Paula Gomez, Brazil. Epistimic - device giving warning of epileptic seizure.
 * North America, Yiding Yu, United States. Twiage - digital platform that enables the transmission of real-time data from ambulance to hospital.
 * Europe, Kristina Tsvetanova, Austria. Blitab Technology - tactile tablet for the visually impaired.
 * Sub-Saharan Africa, Siroun Shamigan, Lebanon. Kamkalima - online AI system that teaches Arabic.
 * Middle-East and North Africa, Melissa Bime, Cameroon. Infiuss - online blood bank that intermediates between hospitals.
 * Aisia-Pacific, Swati Pandey, India. Arboreal Agro Innovations – industrial scale, vertically integrated stevia producer.

2017

 * Latin America, Candice Pascoal, Brazil. Kikante, crowdfunding platform.
 * North America, Katie Anderson, US. Save Water & Co, data analytics to reduce water consumption.
 * Europe, Ciara Donlon, Ireland. Theya Healthcare post surgery bamboo undergarments.
 * Sub-Saharan Africa, Salma Abdulai, Ghana. Unique Quality Product enabling fonio farming and processing.
 * Middle-East and North Africa, Sara-Kristina Hannig Nour, Egypt. Sara and Lara's Baskets delivers weekly baskets of organic products in Egyprian cities.
 * Aisia-Pacific, Trupti Jain, India. Naireeta Services water management solutions for small farmers.

2015

 * Asia & Pacific: Hannah Chou and Momo Huang, OurCityLove Social Entreprise, Taiwan
 * Europe: Ciara Clancy, Beats Medical, Ireland
 * Latin America: Komal Dadlani, Lab4U, Chile
 * Middle East and North Africa: Mouna Abbassy, Izil Beauty, UAE
 * North America: Alexandra Greenhill, myBestHelper, Canada
 * Sub-Saharan Africa: Chinwe Ohajuruka, Comprehensive Design Services, Nigeria

2014

 * Asia & Pacific: Diana Jue and Jackie Stenson, Essmart Global, India
 * Europe: Carla Delfino, Imperial Europe, Italy
 * Latin America: Bel Pesce, FazINOVA, Brazil
 * Middle East and North Africa: Mariam Hazem, Reform Studio, Egypt
 * North America: Eleni Antoniadou, Transplants Without Donors, United States
 * Sub-Saharan Africa: Achenyo Idachaba, MitiMeth, Nigeria

2013

 * Asia & Pacific: Namita Banka, Banka Bioloo, India
 * Europe: Leonora O'Brien, Pharmapod, Ireland
 * Latin America: Gabriela Maldonado, Jugando Aprendo, Guatemala
 * Middle East and North Africa: Sima Najjar, Ekeif.com, Jordan
 * North America: Priyanka Bakaya, PK Clean, United States
 * Sub-Saharan Africa: Bilikiss Adebiyi, Wecyclers, Nigeria

2012

 * Asia & Pacific: Lianna Gunawan, La Spina Collections, Indonesia
 * Europe: Cécile Réal, Endodiag, France
 * Latin America: Gabriela Flores, Kirah Design, Bolivia
 * Middle East and North Africa: Iba Masood, Gradberry.com, United Arab Emirates
 * North America: Ting Shih, ClickMedix, United States
 * Sub-Saharan Africa: Julienne Ingabire & Elizabeth Scharpf, Sustainable Health Enterprises, Rwanda

2011

 * Asia & Pacific: Chunhong Chen, Yiyuan Environmental Group, China
 * Europe: Kresse Wesling, Elvis & Kresse, United Kingdom
 * Latin America: Carolina Guerra, Ingerecuperar, Colombia
 * Middle East and North Africa: Rana El Chemaitelly, The Little Engineer, Lebanon
 * North America: Benita Singh and Summer Rayne Oakes, Source4Style, United States
 * Sub-Saharan Africa: Lorna Rutto, EcoPost, Kenya

2010

 * Africa: Ann Kihengu, Prian, Tanzania
 * Asia: Gouthami, Travel Another India, India
 * Europe: Wendy McMillan, Who to Ask?, United Kingdom
 * Latin America: Valentina Peroni, Nutribaby, Argentina
 * North America: Birame Sock, Third Solutions, United States

2009

 * Africa: Jife Williams and Adeola Asabia, MN Environmental Services, Nigeria
 * Asia: Kimberley Ong, AlgaVentures, Philippines
 * Europe: Kristin Pétursdóttir and Halla Tómasdóttir, Audur Capital, Iceland
 * Latin America: Rosario Monteverde and Magdalena Rodríguez, PRO Internacional, Uruguay
 * North America: Una Ryan, Waltham Technologies, United States

2008

 * Africa: Mame Diene, Karistal, Senegal
 * Asia: Renee King, Tamang Timpla Food Inc., Philippines
 * Europe: Laura Chicurel, Chicurela, United Kingdom
 * Latin America: Cynthia Guy, Instituto de Implantes Cocleares, Panama
 * North America: Mona S. Jhaveri, Foligo Therapeutics, United States

2007

 * Africa: Lucie Avoaka, Santa Maria Medical Center, Côte d'Ivoire
 * Asia: Nandini Pandhi and Yasmina McCarty, GreenMango, India
 * Europe: Bettina Götzenberger, Lomaslegal, Spain
 * Latin America: Antonia Sanin, The Globe, Colombia
 * North America: Angel Chang, Angel Chang LLC, United States