ABOUT US

DRIVING CHANGE BY EMPOWERING WOMEN IMPACT ENTREPRENEURS

The Cartier Women's Initiative is an annual international entrepreneurship program that aims to drive change by empowering women impact entrepreneurs. Founded by Cartier 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.

The call for applications for the 2023 edition is now closed. The 2023 Awards Ceremony will take place in Paris on May 10, 2023.

OUR VISION

Our vision is a world in which every woman impact entrepreneur driving social and environmental change can achieve her full potential.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to shine a light on women impact entrepreneurs and provide them with the necessary financial, social and human capital support to grow their business and build their leadership skills.

Our Guiding Principles

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1.

We believe women can be extraordinary change agents, and we leverage business as a force for good.

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2.

We contribute by creating opportunities for everyone. Talent is universal but opportunities are not.

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3.

We are constantly learning. We leave room for the possibility that there is something we have not learnt yet that could make us even better.

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4.

We see beyond ourselves and care for our team, communities that we serve and communities that we are a part of.

WHAT WE DO

AWARDS

Global visibility and grant funding to women entrepreneurs who are leveraging business as a force for good.

FELLOWSHIP

Peer-, industry- and academic-based educational programming for skills and leadership development and business growth.

COMMUNITY

A vibrant, lifelong global community of women impact entrepreneurs and their supporters.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Driving an active conversation on women impact entrepreneurs through content curation and research partnerships.

OUR IMPACT

297

FELLOWS SINCE 2006

63

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

7
M

USD GRANTED

A big part of our work is to create opportunities for role models and sisterhood amongst women impact entrepreneurs. It’s amazing how empowering that is – when you are in the company of someone who has been there, and done that, and also when you are in the company of others doing the same thing but in different parts of the world.

Wingee Sampaio

Global Program Director, Cartier Women's Initiative

Wingee Sampaio

Wingee serves as the Global Program Director of the Cartier Women’s Initiative. She also serves on the investment committee of Next Wave Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in social impact businesses. She co-authored “Impact with Wings: Stories to Inspire and Mobilize Women Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs”. Wingee has had a distinguished career in the capital markets for fifteen years at State Street Global Advisors, Barclays Global Investors, and Goldman Sachs & Co.

OUR TEAM