Cartier Women's Initiative is a annual corporate recognizing excellence in Business. Organized by Cartier, it covers the Global region. Established in 2006.
The Cartier Women's Initiative is an international entrepreneurship program founded by Cartier in 2006 to support women impact entrepreneurs — founders of women-run and women-owned businesses, from any country and sector, whose ventures create strong social or environmental impact. Selection runs through application review, shortlisting, due diligence, and ranking by a jury panel, overseen by Cartier's Culture & Philanthropy arm. Since inception the program has supported 330 fellows across 66 countries and distributed $14.1 million in financial support.
Awards are structured around nine world regions — from North America and Europe to Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, and Oceania — with the top three businesses in each region receiving grants of US$100,000, US$60,000, and US$30,000, plus thematic awards such as the Science & Technology Pioneer Award for ventures built on hard-to-reproduce scientific advances. All fellows enter a structured 12-month fellowship that includes the INSEAD Women's Impact Entrepreneurship Program, roughly 48 hours of one-on-one coaching, leadership and media training, and access to a community of 500+ fellows — for many winners the network and coaching outlast the grant in value.
Eligibility is specific: the business must be majority-owned by its founders and team, generate US$50,000–$5 million in annual revenue with 5–250 employees, have raised under US$2 million in dilutive funding, contribute to at least one UN SDG, and the applicant must hold a top leadership role with English proficiency at CEFR B2 or above. Applications typically open in mid-April and close in mid-June (the 2027-edition call ran 16 April–16 June 2026), with fellows honored at a ceremony the following year. Strong applications lead with audited impact and revenue evidence — the due-diligence stage rewards documentation over storytelling.