The Cartier Women’s Initiative is an annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 2006; the program is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable social and/or environmental impact.
Eligibility criteria:
The Regional Awards of the Cartier Women’s Initiative are looking for women-run and women-owned impact-driven businesses. Entrepreneurs across all sectors and geographies are encouraged to apply.
To be considered for the Regional Awards; the applicant and her business must meet the following eligibility criteria:
For-profit: The business should be designed to generate sufficient revenue to support its operations and return some level of profit to its owners. Non-profit enterprises are not eligible.
Early-stage: The business should have a proven business model and be in the initial phase of its development and growth (between 1 and 6 years of licensed/registered operations as of the date of application). This means that businesses applying to the 2023 edition must have been incorporated between June 2016 and June 2021.
Revenue generation: The business should be generating revenue from the sales of its products and/or services for at least 1 year as of the date of application. For businesses applying to the 2023 edition, this means that they need to have been generating revenue since June 2021. It is understood that a business that is generating revenue is not necessarily profitable in its first years of operations.
Fundraising: The business should not have raised more than USS2 million in dilutive funding. Dilutive funding is any kind of funding that requires you to give away a piece of your company, including not only future profits but possibly control.
Positive impact: The business should demonstrate that it has realized a strong positive impact in its industry and that it has the potential to realize even more impact down the road. It should contribute to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Grant size: $30,000 – $100,000 grant
Deadline: June 30, 2022