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Cartier Women’s Initiative 2020

Are you a woman entrepreneur with a 1 to 5 years old for-profit business?

This is your chance to take your business to the next level.

Apply now for a chance to win US$ 100,000, coaching, networking opportunities and media exposure for your startup.

MENA Laureate and Finalists 2019

MENA Laureate and Finalists 2018

MENA Laureate and Finalists 2017

Overview

THE MISSION

The Cartier Women’s Initiative is an international business programme created in 2006 to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs. The Cartier Women’s Initiative aims to encourage inspirational women entrepreneurs worldwide to solve contemporary global challenges by:

Since their inception in 2006, they have accompanied 219 promising female business-owners and recognized 77 laureates.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE COMPETITION

The 21 finalists, representing the top 3 projects from each of the 7 regions, will receive:

WINNING PACKAGE

First prize for the 7 laureates:


Second prize for the remaining 14 finalists:


Eligibility

Eligibility Description

Before you start to fill in your application, please make sure that your business meets all of our eligibility criteria. If one or several of the items set out in the checklist below do not apply to your business then this means it is ineligible for this edition of the programme.

Who is Eligible for the Awards?

  • My business is for-profit:Your business should be designed to generate sufficient revenues to support its operations and return some level of profit to its owners. Non-profit project proposals are not accepted.

  • My business has 1 year of revenue:Your business should currently be generating revenue from the sales of its product and/or services for at least 1 year as of the date of application. It being understood that a business that is generating revenue is not necessarily profitable in its first years of operations.

  • My business has raised no more than US$2 million in dilutive funding:The Cartier Women's Initiative caps the funds raised to US$2 million in order to ensure that the businesses selected fall within a similar range of development.

  • My business has between 1 and 5 years of licensed/registered operations:Your business should have a proven business model and be in the initial phase of its development and growth. We are focused on companies that are majority owned by founders and employees at the time of application.

  • My business meets at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. The SDGs are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the environment. They cover a series of social, economic, and environmental development issues.

  • I am in the main leadership position at my company:The main leadership position must be filled by a woman either in the capacity of Director, General Manager or CEO. She must also own significant stake within the company. The ownership of the business is evaluated based on the position of the candidate in relation to other stakeholders.

  • I am 18 or the age of legal majority in my country of citizenship:(whichever is older) on the day of the application deadline.

  • I have good command of the English language (both verbal & written):We require the Common European Framework of Reference Level B2 and above. This level requires an understanding of main ideas of complex text, technical discussion in business and your field of specialization, ability to interact with fluency and spontaneity with native speakers.

  • I can commit to dedicating 3 - 4 hours/week virtually from January to April to participate in the Cartier programme, can commit to submitting: deliverables on time, and can attend 1 week of in-person workshops in early May (exact date TBC)

  • If selected as a laureate, I will be able to provide Cartier with a short annual write up (500 characters) of my company’s progress towards the UN SDG goals.

In order to complete your application, you must submit the following attachments:

  • Resume

  • Scanned copy of business registration

  • Pitch deck (optional): We have no specific form for the pitch deck, just submit one that you have that describes your impact business. This can be an investor presentation or a product presentation

  • Plus 3 additional attachments (optional): image of product, brochure, press, articles, research, etc.

We recommend that you check that you have all of these documents available before starting your application.

These documents must be submitted as attachments along with your application form in the “Attachments” section and cannot be sent separately by e-mail.

For any questions regarding the eligibility criteria and/or the application process, please contact us at contact@cartierwomensinitiative.com.

We suggest that you download the application form template first and that you write your answers in a separate draft document. You may then copy & paste them into the online form once you are finished.

For more detailed information, please visit Cartier application selection process

Additional Resources

Uploading Requested Documents
Financial Form
Other Sources of Funding
Current Funding
Reasons for Applying to CWIA
Creation and Innovation
Quantify Social Impact
Social Impact
Risks
SWOT Analysis

MENA Partners

Become a Partner
Partners Location

Contact Us

For more information regarding the program, partnership or media coverage, please contact us on: projects@potential.com

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