The Cartier Women's Initiative has been in existence since 2006. For 16 years, the initiative has sat at the forefront of helping women impact entrepreneurs reach their full potential and providing them with the necessary financial, social, and human capital support to grow their business and further build their leadership skills. Following the announcement on April 10, in which Cartier presented 33 fellows for the 2023 edition of the Cartier Women's initiative (including three Australian entrepreneurs who are pioneering their fields for a better future), just last week on May 10, the luxury jewellery house shared the Oceania region winner of the CWI during a ceremony in Paris.
That winner is the third and final fellow of the Oceania region, Ingrid Sealey of Teach Well. Teach Well endeavors to improve educational outcomes for Australian students with high-impact teacher training.
“We are thrilled to host the 16th annual awards ceremony of the Cartier Women’s Initiative in Paris, celebrating our ever-growing community of impact-driven entrepreneurs," said Cyrille Vigneron, CEO and President of Cartier International. "Cartier is proud to continue building on its commitment for women’s empowerment, thus leveraging business as a force for good."
Reaffirming its unwavering commitment to women impact entrepreneurs around the world, the CWI program is open to women-run and women-owned businesses from any country and sector that aim to have a strong and sustainable positive impact on society as defined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Through their support of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, Cartier has been able to offer support to 298 women impact entrepreneurs hailing from 63 countries, and has awarded a total of USD $7,440,000 in grant funding to support their businesses, all driven by a common conviction: solving the most pressing global challenges. This year’s program features a total of 11 awards, comprised of 9 regional awards, including Oceania and Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa launched this year and 2 thematic awards. In 2023, the three Oceana finalists all hail from Australian soil, each of them propelled to the world stage by their passion and commitment to change.
Lily Dempster, who was nominated for her company, One Small Step, was one of those finalists, alongside the 2023 Oceania region CWI winner Ingrid Sealey. One Small Step is a consumer technology profit-for-purpose startup that supports the mass decarbonisation of society by encouraging deep behavioural changes across multiple sectors. Meanwhile, Lina Xu was also a finalist, recognised for Telecare, a digital platform that provides patients with high-quality specialist consultations from the comfort of home, facilitated by a general practitioner or through its hospital partners.
Lily Dempster
Lina Xu
Ingrid Sealey
With 11 awards within the Cartier Women's Initiative, the first-place awardees of each category were also announced at the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Ceremony on May 10, 2023, in Paris. The first-place awardees received USD $100,000 in grant funding, while the second and third-place awardees took home USD $60,000 and USD $30,000 respectively. To facilitate this, the total grant funding per edition has increased to USD $2 million, its largest amount yet.
In addition to the grant funding, all 33 fellows will also benefit from tailored mentoring and coaching, media visibility, networking opportunities and education courses from the leading business school INSEAD.
The program will also launch its call for applications for the 2024 edition, starting on May 10, 2023, until June 30, 2023, at 6PM (CEST).
