Cartier has announced their selection of finalists for their 2020 Cartier Women’s Initiative, which provides 21 women with the chance to receive major financial backing in their new social-impact business ventures. Since 2006, the program has bolstered more than 200 companies led by female entrepreneurs and created over 7,000 jobs in doing so.
The seven winners, one from each region of the world, will receive $100,000 worth of funding towards their businesses; the remaining 14 will receive $30,000, for a total reaching more than $1 million in grants. To qualify, all finalists must meet the criteria: being in the initial phase of operations (under five years); creating revenue for at least one year; and meeting at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to financial funding, the finalists also receive one-on-one strategy coaching and support from INSEAD Business School.
The three finalists from North America are Sarah Tuneberg, Stephanie Benedetto and Kelly Nguyen.
Tuneberg’s business, Geospiza, is an information system that evaluates risk for climate-exposed organizations and visualization tools to assist in decision-making strategies. The idea for the company stemmed from her 15 years working as an emergency manager and the lack of clear software during Hurricane Sandy.
Benedetto’s Queen of Raw is an unused fabric marketplace that connects businesses like factories, mills and retailers with buyers, in hopes to cut down on fashion production waste. She modeled her business from her great grandfather’s, an Austrian immigrant who started a textile business that included repurposing fabric from discarded garments.
Nguyen started IDLogiq to help medical patients manage and verify medications in efforts to eradicate the counterfeit drug market. Combining her background in pharmaceuticals with a drive to create a democratic, easy-to-use consumer product, she hopes to arm users with the information to handle their medications properly.
The winners will be announced in June. You can find information on all the finalists at cartierwomensinitiative.com.
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