This year’s theme, “Forces for Good,” embodied the program’s ambition to foster a more just and equitable world, while emphasizing the importance of collective action to deliver change for good.
When people hear the name “Cartier,” they are most likely to think about exquisite, luxury jewelry. That’s understandable, as the brand creates some of the most coveted jewelry in the world for the past 177 years.
Over the past few decades, however, the iconic brand has also come to symbolize efforts to make this world a much better place—especially for women.
Last May 22, the glimmering city of Shenzhen in China shone even brighter as it welcomed some of the most promising women entrepreneurs from around the world to celebrate the 2024 Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI). Adding to the glamour of the event are supermodel, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Karlie Kloss and Olympic diving champion and public welfare and environmental protection advocate Guo Jingjing.
A celebration of female-founded startups
The event is the French jeweler’s impact entrepreneurship program which recognizes and invests in female-founded start-ups which drive change.
The awards ceremony was hosted by writer and gender equality champion Sandi Toksvig, with Cartier CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron in attendance. It saw the awarding of 33 new fellows across nine regional awards and two thematic awards—Science and Technology Pioneer Award and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. The DEI Award is also the only category open to male founders.
CWI was set up in 2006 to provide women impact entrepreneurs with financial, social, and human capital to grow their businesses. These enterprises address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development (UNSD) Goals – to improve lives, preserve the planet, and create opportunities.
Since then and now in its 17th year, the number of fellows has grown to 330 people, with a more than 300-strong community of business leaders, former jury members, mentors, and investors supporting them.
This year’s theme, “Forces for Good,” embodied the program’s ambition to foster a more just and equitable world, while emphasizing the importance of collective action to deliver change for good.
The first, second, and third place winners received US$100,000, $60,000, and $30,000 in grant funding, respectively. But more than the cash incentives, fellows get to join the CWI Fellows community, which grants them access to tailored mentoring and coaching, media visibility, networking opportunities, as well as education courses from INSEAD.
Cartier chose Shenzhen as the host for this year’s awards for its prominence as an entrepreneur hub and its logistical infrastructure, making it China’s answer to the US’ Silicon Valley. It has been reported that one in every five Shenzhen citizens is an entrepreneur.
Asian stalwarts
This year, a total of 33 fellows were selected for the program. Standout awardees from Asia included Park Jiwon from South Korea, founder of sexual wellness brand SAIB. The company aims to help women take charge of their sexual and reproductive health with toxin-free, female-friendly contraceptives and intimate hygiene products in portable, discreet packaging. She founded the company after observing that in South Korea, misinformation, guilt, and shame about carrying condoms are passed on from male partners.
She won the top prize for the East Asia category, with China’s Emily Yu, founder of Ginger Ah, a lingerie line for breast cancer patients, taking second place, and Xintong Du, founder of VoiceChanger, which provides therapy and support for children with speech impediments, clinching the third spot.
Meanwhile, Singaporean fellow Lynne Lim, founder of medtech start-up NousQ, clinched first place in the Science & Technology Pioneer Award category. Introduced in 2021, the award recognizes disruptive solutions built around protected or hard-to-reproduce technological or scientific advances.
Dr. Lim aims to tackle the medical condition known as glue ear, leading her to develop CLiKX – the world’s first handheld robotic device that allows doctors to conduct ear tube surgery with the click of a button, without the need for general anesthesia or an operating theater, according to a report on The Straits Times.
Open internationally, the Science & Technology Pioneer Award is currently the most competitive category because of the volume and quality of applications, with a total of 234 applicants for the 2024 edition, said CWI’s global program director Wingee Sin.
In the South Asia and Central Asia category, India’s Mansi Jain, founder of wastewater treatment company DigitalPaani took first place. Ira Guha, founder of menstrual health social enterprise Asan, which aims to end period poverty in India and globally through reusable menstrual cups, won second place. In third place was Vietnam’s Marina Tran-Vu. Tran-Vu, the program’s first fellow from Vietnam, is founder of EQUO, a sustainable brand that provides easy alternatives to single-use plastics.
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion award , meanwhile, was given to Akshita Sachdeva of India, founder of Trestle Labs, an entity that provides visually impaired people with access to education and employment through the Kibo device and app.
