Cartier unveils laureates of 2021 Cartier Women＇s ... / 四六文摘

Cartier announced its eight laureates for the 2021 edition of the Cartier Women's Initiative on Wednesday, reaffirming its commitment to women impact and promoting mutual benefits for business and the wider society.

In April, the initiative announced 24 fellows selected among 876 applicants hailing from 142 countries. These fellows represent the top three entrepreneurs for the seven regional awards and for a newly-established award, the Science and Technology Pionneer Award.

The new award is aiming to give extra recognition to female entrepreneurs at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation and address the gender gap in that area.

'Through this new thematic category, we intend to broaden the program's impact and relevance by highlighting female role models in male-dominated deep tech industries, supporting a group of female entrepreneurs who were not eligible for our program in the past due to certain eligibility criteria and offering them complementary human and capital support to drive their businesses as a force for good,' said President and CEO of Cartier International, Cyrille Vigneron.

The eight laureates for each award category will take home $100,000 in prize money, and the second and third runners-up for each award category will receive $30,000.

Finally, the eight laureates and 16 finalists will take part in a tailored training session, collective workshops, gain media visibility and international networking opportunities, as well as the opportunity to join an INSEAD impact entrepreneurship program.

There were fellows in East Asia from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan, China. Wang Nana, the Chinese mainland fellow, shone in particular.

'Nana Wang is indeed a very impressive and inspiring impact entrepreneur. Determined to do something meaningful that would positively impact communities, she has created No Barriers Tech Co, which develops AI-based hardware and software solutions that provide a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds,' Vigneron said.

The list of eight laureates was announced at a virtual ceremony.

Prior to the ceremony, the Cartier Women's Initiative had organized two days of virtual gathering, bringing together a diverse group of global thinkers and doers ranging from prominent leaders to friends of Cartier to collectively explore how to create and sustain the ripple effect ignited by these women changemakers.

The initiative, established in 2006, aims to help women grow their businesses and provide them with necessary financial support. Funded 100 percent by Cartier, it operates independently from Cartier's commercial activities.

Open to female-run and female-owned businesses all over the world, it also supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the company said.

For the first time in decades, the world has retreated in its progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. If action is not taken, the Covid-19 pandemic could create a lost decade of global development.

According to the company, there are several routes to getting back on track. To support the work of entrepreneurs, a group of people who can trigger a powerful ripple of change, is the way to create a chain reaction that has far-reaching effects.

Given the context, female entrepreneurs are significant drivers of this ripple effect as they can spearhead businesses that achieve a positive impact and are financially viable. And they effect change far beyond their immediate circles.

For the past 15 years, the Cartier Women's Initiative has supported and uplifted female entrepreneurs to propel the ripple effect. And positive change is percolating from impact-driven businesses, to communities, to society, and finally, to the world at large, the company said.

Since 2006, the program has selected in total 15 Cartier Women's Initiative fellows from China. Chinese women entrepreneurs are considered to be outstanding as their businesses have scaled further along in the business development cycle (due to the entrepreneurs' talent in successfully penetrating a large domestic market) and they have also been typically stronger from a financial sustainability perspective, according to Vigneron.

While they continue to face barriers that are common to women worldwide, the Chinese domestic ecosystem for female entrepreneurship is more vibrant relative to other regions in East Asia, Vigneron said.

As for the company's partnership with UN Women, it has been a commitment at executive level for a while now. First, through Vigneron becoming a He for She Ambassador in 2018, then by signing the Women Empowerment Principles in 2019 and thus committing to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.

'Women have always played a pivotal role for Cartier and so naturally, the company has a longstanding history and commitment towards female empowerment through dedicated initiatives: the Cartier Women's Initiative but also Cartier Philanthropy,' Vigneron said.

'But it is clear from the company standpoint, that in order to go beyond and participate in tackling the world's challenges, especially in regard to female empowerment, private and public actors need to work together, hand in hand. Such innovative collaborations have the strongest and most durable impact.'

In the near future, Cartier intends to join the Unstereotype Alliance, a thought and action platform convened by UN Women that seeks to eradicate harmful stereotypes from advertising and media to help create a more equal world.

'We are very proud of this strong partnership with UN Women and definitely intend to keep collaborating closely with this impressive entity in the upcoming years,' Vigneron said.

The eight laureates of the 2021 edition of the Cartier Women's Initiative

Latin American and the Caribbean: Valentina Rogacheva, Mexico