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?

To be considered for the Regional Awards, the applicant and the applicant’s
business must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Positive impact: The business should demonstrate that it has realized positive impact in its industry and that it has the potential to realize even more impact as it scales. 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 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 2026 edition must have been incorporated between June 2019 and June 2024.

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, recurring according to your business cycle. For businesses applying to the 2026 edition, this means that they need to have been generating revenue since June 2024.

Fundraising: The business should not have raised more than US$2 million in dilutive or potentially dilutive funding (i.e equity, quasi-equity like SAFE or Convertible Notes) as of the date of application. Dilutive funding is any kind of funding that consists of a transfer of the ownership of your company at the time of the funding or in the future under specified terms. The Regional Awards cap the funds raised at the time of the application in order to ensure that the businesses selected fall within a similar range of development. Businesses that have not raised any external funding are also encouraged to apply.

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. The applicant must be part of the founding team. 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). Sole proprietorships are ineligible for the Regional Awards.

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 per 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 category, 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:

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 analysis and fit

We are looking for businesses that have operationalized a unique solution to a
large, unmet need. We consider:

• Product-market fit: Has the business provided evidence of the market?
• Competitive advantage: Does the business have clear, long-term, defensible competitive advantage?
• Expansion: Does the market have room for growth and does the business have potential to expand to other geographies?

Sustainable business and financial model

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 reach profitability?
• Scalability: Is the business model scalable (good margins, unit economics, repeat sales)?
• Loyalty: Is the business likely to retain and upsell existing customers?
• Well thought-out model: Are expectations (sales cycles, price setting, etc) and models well thought out and defensible?

 Strategy and execution

We are looking for businesses with a plan and system to scale. We consider:

• Growth strategy: Does the business have an expansion plan with clear goals and resource requirements?
• Risk assessment: Has the business thoroughly evaluated risks and capabilities?
• Monitoring systems: Does the business have 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?