Cartier Women’s Initiative – 2026 Call for Applications

Our regional and thematic awards recognize and fund talented impact entrepreneurs from around the world who are leveraging business as a force for good.

WHY APPLY?

FINANCIAL CAPITAL SUPPORT

• US$ 100,000 grant for each first-place awardee
• US$ 60,000 grant for each second-place awardee
• US$ 30,000 grant for each third-place awardee

HUMAN CAPITAL SUPPORT
Human capital support is structured into a fellowship program which includes a combination of 1:1 training and collective workshops.

• Leadership communications and media training workshops
• In-person INSEAD Women’s Impact Entrepreneurship Program
• 1:1 training in specific business areas
• 1:1 executive leadership coaching by The Women’s Impact Alliance

SOCIAL CAPITAL SUPPORT
Throughout the program, we strive to highlight the social and environmental impact created by our fellows and bridge connections between women impact entrepreneurs and their supporters.

• International exposure and media visibility
• Support and mentorship by jury members during the fellowship
• Access to a lifelong community of 500+ active community members
• Ongoing support for the development of the fellows’ impact businesses

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

The Science & Technology Pioneer Award of the Cartier Women’s Initiative is looking for women-led impact-driven businesses. Entrepreneurs across all sectors and geographies are encouraged to apply. Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply, and every effort will be made to include them appropriately.

To be considered for the Science & Technology Pioneer Award, the applicant and the applicant’s business must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Technological & scientific innovation: The business should be based on the development of a new technology, a complex engineering process, or a scientific discovery, and not only on a disruptive business model. Development of the technology and product, from idea (TRL 1)* to commercialization (TRL 9)* should take at least 2 years.

Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are commonly used to estimate the maturity of technologies. The framework enables consistent, uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology. The detailed framework can be found here (page 50).

Positive impact: The business should demonstrate the potential to have a significant positive impact in its industry. It should contribute to 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 for the year 2030 as a universal call to tackle a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges.

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. That said, the business does not have to be profitable at the time of application.

Early-stage: The business should be in the initial phase of its development or growth. It must have at least a proof of concept, a prototype, or be in the process of producing one (minimum TRL 4) and must not have been commercializing its final product/service for more than 6 years.

Leadership: The applicant must be a woman and she must fill one of the main leadership positions, for example as CEO, COO, CTO, General Manager, or Managing Director of the business.

Ownership: The business must be majority owned by its founders and team members at the time of application. Moreover, one of the following conditions must be met: (1) a woman or multiple women are the largest shareholder(s) of founder equity (not total equity), or (2) the applicant owns a share greater or equal to that of each of her co-founder(s), or (3) if not part of the founding team, the applicant owns a share greater or equal to that of the business (co-)founder(s). Sole proprietorships are ineligible for the Science & Technology Pioneer Award.

Legal entry age: The applicant must be at least 18 years of age on the day of the application deadline (June 24, 2025).

English proficiency: A good command of the English language is required. We require the Common European Framework of Reference Level B2 or above. This level requires an understanding of the main ideas of complex text, technical discussion in business and your field of specialization, and an ability to interact with fluency and spontaneity with native speakers. English proficiency is important because this is the common language for the Cartier Women’s Initiative team, its partners, the jury members and the overall community. Being proficient will allow the fellow to fully participate in the community and in the fellowship.

Time commitment: The applicant must commit to participating in the fellowship program from January 2026 to December 2026. Fellows will be expected to dedicate 1 to 3 hours/week to the program. In addition to the virtual training, fellows will be expected to attend one week of in-person events in April or May 2026. Beyond the fellowship, there are also two days of on-site filming of the fellow and their business in the first quarter of 2026. Fellows will also be required to report their impact for 3 years following the completion of their fellowship.

Application: The applicant should be the author of the application. We accept only one application per business. Furthermore, a business will only be considered for one award, so pick the category where your business fits the best: refer to FAQ. Businesses that submit applications to multiple award categories will be disqualified.

HOW DO WE SELECT?

The selection process includes shortlisting, in-depth due diligence on the top five applicants in each region, and presentation before the jury. The jury selects and ranks the top three applicants who become our fellows. Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:

Technological innovation
We are looking for new and realistic deep tech solutions. We consider:

• Disruption: Is the solution built around unique, patented or hard to reproduce technological or scientific advances?
• Uniqueness: Is the solution fully based on the development of a new technology, complex engineering process or scientific discovery, and not only a disruptive business model or an accumulation of existing technologies?
• Sophistication: Does the business leverage a solid research base that requires a mix of advanced skills, knowledge, and infrastructure?
• Industry impact: Does the solution effectively address key challenges within the targest industry and/or create new markets to solve major social and environmental issues?

Embedded positive impact
We are looking for impact businesses that will create more impact as they scale. We consider:

• Intentionality: Was the business created to solve a social or environmental problem?
• Embeddedness: Is positive impact locked into the business model?
• Magnitude: Is there significant breadth (number of people: local to global) and/or depth (degree of change: marginal to transformational) of impact?
• Measurement: Is the business tracking and managing to optimize impact?
• Impact potential: Is the impact potential and/or already realized?

Market and access strategy
We are looking for businesses with a clear competitive advantage and a defined market access strategy. We consider:

• Unmet need: Has the business identified a large, unmet need in a growing industry (requiring a reasonable level of behavior change)?
• Competitive advantage: Does the business have a clear, long-term, defensible competitive advantage?
• Market share: Could the business secure a big share in the market (#1 or #2)?
• Validation and product-market fit: Does the business have evidence of (potential) customer validation and (potential) product-market fit?

Business model sustainability and development plan
We are looking for businesses that have the potential to be profitable. We consider:

• Financial sustainability: Does the business have sufficient financial return potential to allow for strategic growth?
• Well thought-out model: Are expectations (sales cycles, price setting, etc) and models well thought out and defensible?
• Growth strategy: Does the business have an expansion plan with clear business and impact goals and resource requirements (people, capital, etc)?
• Risk assessment: Has the business thoroughly evaluated risks and capabilities?
• Monitoring systems: Is the business working to set up dynamic mechanisms to monitor execution?

Team
We are looking for a capable team to build the business. We consider:

• Complementarity: Is the team diverse, with 2-4 members who complement each other?
• Technical skill: Does the team have relevant technical/leadership skills and experience?
• Track record: Does the team have track record of execution and/or significant achievement?
• Network: Does the team have relevant networks and advisors?

Leadership character of applicant
We are looking for bold impact leaders, who can attract talent and foster purpose-driven team culture. We consider:

• Entrepreneurial spirit: Does the applicant display integrity, motivation and high energy, entrepreneurial approach?
• Cartier values: Does the applicant display the following character traits: Curiosity, Open-Mindedness, Generosity, Sharing, Respect, Rigor, Independence?
• Commitment to CWI vision: Is the applicant committed to the Cartier Women’s Initiative vision?