Cover The Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 fellows at the awards ceremony at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
The Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 fellows at the awards ceremony at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
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From five fellows to a global network of 500-plus community members across nearly 80 countries, Cartier’s flagship entrepreneurship programme has evolved far beyond a business competition. As it marks its 20th anniversary, we speak to Cartier CEO of Southeast Asia & Oceania Yanina Novitskaya and this year’s fellows about funding, trust, and the power of community
Twenty years ago, Cartier launched an initiative to recognise and support promising women entrepreneurs. The goal was to shine a light on women impact entrepreneurs, and support them in real, tangible ways. It will come as no surprise that the Maison doesn’t do things by halves: this was the world’s first look at Cartier Women’s Initiative, a highly structured, highly competitive international business plan competition aimed specifically at the start-up phase of women-run enterprises. To qualify, projects had to be original, for-profit businesses, in their earliest stages of development, and designed to create a sustainable social or environmental impact. The selection process was rigorous; regional jury members evaluated the pitches and five winning laureates emerged, one from each continent, who each received critical early-stage funding and ongoing strategic coaching.
Twenty years on, the Cartier Women’s Initiative looks a little different to that first iteration. Its ambition, scale and scope have grown tremendously over two decades of development. The program now supports 30 fellows annually; regions have been refined to create new geographical categories for a total of nine regional awards and one thematic award, the Science & Technology Pioneer Award. And over the years Cartier Women’s Initiative has disbursed some USD14.1million in grant funding.
“We’re so proud to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Cartier Women's Initiative. What we have today is extraordinary, a global network of more than 500 impact leaders from around the world,” Yanina Novitskaya, CEO, Cartier Southeast Asia & Oceania , told us in a quiet pocket of time before the official events of the Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 Awards Week kick off in Bangkok. “It’s a three-component programme: there is the financial aspect, but also this is about human capital: the educational part which of course all the fellows receive thanks to our partnership with INSEAD, as well as coaching and workshops. Then there is the social capital, through the community and mentorship which is, in fact, non-stop—it is a constant exchange of sharing, and support between fellows.”
Above Yanina Novitskaya, CEO, Cartier Southeast Asia & Oceania
Yanina Novitskaya, CEO, Cartier Southeast Asia & Oceania
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Because significantly, Cartier Women’s Initiative no longer presents itself as a competition. Sitting at the 20th anniversary Cartier Women’s Initiative talks, listening to the fellows discuss their experiences applying for and making their way through the process, it became abundantly clear that beyond much-needed financial support, this is a fellowship, a community that brings women together to form friendships and business relationships. This year’s fellows join a network of over 500 active alumni, jurors and mentors spanning nearly 80 countries.
“This is the power of the platform,” Novitskaya says, speaking on the commitment to sustainable success baked right into the Cartier Women’s Initiative. “It's not just a traditional programme, one edition and one reward. Because in that case, even if it’s good financial support, what is next, right? Your business definitely will have to go further and be developed with support, with the exchange of ideas, with solutions discovered by others. That is the beauty of this platform and the power of this community because they stay connected. 66 per cent of all fellows’ impact businesses are still operating. So that is a very high success metric.”
Above Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 fellow Jeklin Kim
Above The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Ceremony was held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok
Cartier Women’s Initiative 2026 fellow Jeklin Kim
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The nine geographical regions represented in the Cartier Women’s Initiative are now East Asia, South & Central Asia, Middle East & North Africa, Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa, Anglophone & Lusophone Africa, North Americal, Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania. In 2021, Cartier also introduced a new thematic award fuelling innovation led by women. Each of the 30 final fellows for 2026 is the driving force behind an impact project that serves a pressing, specific need, informed by their community. Monika Shukla (India) founded Humble Bee, a tech-enabled, sustainable beekeeping venture aimed at lifting rural women out of poverty and boosting crop biodiversity. In Mexico, Cristina Campero Peredo developed PROSPERiA, an AI-powered retinal screening tool for the early detection and prevention of chronic blindness. Salma Tammam (Egypt) saw the need for low-cost, highly scalable medical diagnostic tests specifically engineered for low-resource and underserved regions and launched Reme-D. In Cameroon, Adeline Pelage turned traditional biscuits into nutrient-dense snacks to combat child malnutrition, with Biscuiterie Bobo.
The scale and subject matter of these projects varies wildly, but for each of these fellows, the common thread is always impact. And for fellows coming from the global south, or from regions not commonly recognised for innovation, the value of Cartier Women’s Initiative goes beyond just the financial. There is a stamp of authority and legitimacy afforded by being part of the programme that dramatically widens the range of visibility and depth of trust for a project.
Above Salma Tammam (Egypt), founder of Reme-D
Above Salma Tammam received her Cartier Women’s Initiative award from Amal Clooney
Salma Tammam (Egypt), founder of Reme-D
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“The majority of doctors, laboratory technicians working in labs have been accustomed for so long that the products they use in the lab come from the US or the EU, or from China. But when we come to them and tell them that this is an Egyptian product, the first thing that comes to mind is a lack of trust,” Reme-D founder Salma Tammam told us. “This is a problem that hits hard because I was educated in Germany and if I had produced this product in Germany, this issue of trust and credibility would not have come. And this is one of the biggest barriers to be able to attract more funding, to grow your business, you have to build trust. It’s not a battle that you can fight on your own. This is why something like Cartier Women’s Initiative is very important for that because it gives you a big, international audience. And from a policymaker perspective, when they see that something is being repeatedly credited for being useful, good, then they start thinking, where can we start using this and how can this be put to benefit?”
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This nod of legitimacy is one that Cartier is well aware of, which is why the application process for Cartier Women’s Initiative is a rigorous one—and potentially daunting for new applicants. “Many potential applicants might feel their projects aren't good enough for this initiative,” said Novitskaya. “We want to make it clear that we champion all great ideas that can deliver social impact. Our aim is also to build confidence among our fellows and within our ecosystem. Through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and support, individuals can see that others have faced similar barriers yet successfully developed their businesses further.”
“Just stop thinking that you have to be perfect, just apply!,” one of the 2026 fellows shared. “Action always matters more than trying to be perfect. Lower your barriers, and be courageous enough to believe in yourself, otherwise it’s going to be really hard as a woman entrepreneur.”
“The community is always growing; we have a different pool of investors with whom we meet; we have a rotation of our jury members,” shared Novitskaya. “This is very important for us, because it’s not just a static platform. It should be live and it should follow the trends and changes in society, in our lives. That's why we introduce new categories, we listen to our fellows. We will have new voices, we will have new faces. So, it will one day be our living heritage; and one day we will celebrate 50 years.”
