The Cartier Women’s Initiative: A 15th Anniversary Reflection

For a decade and a half the Cartier Women’s Initiative has been driving change around the world, empowering female entrepreneurs who make a strong and sustainable impact on society or the environment.

The Cartier Women’s Initiative began from the simple idea that empowering women in business was key to the future of entrepreneurship and innovation. The results, to date, have surpassed all expectations: 262 female entrepreneurs from 62 countries have been supported with $6,440,000 – driving change in sectors from pharmaceuticals and e-learning to agriculture.

Ahead of its 15th anniversary, the Initiative reached out to its members to evaluate the impact of the program on their businesses and their personal development. The strength of the community formed by the awardees was a recurring theme in the responses, confirming the importance of the Maison’s commitment to women.

Together, they have gone from strength to strength since the CWI was founded. Their shared pioneering spirit sees over half of their fellows offer a product or service that is totally new to the world, with another quarter offering something that is new for their home country. A focus on innovation and support characterized the response to the pandemic with 90% of businesses remaining in operation. On top of these achievements, the fellows of the Cartier Women’s Initiative are truly committed to making a positive impact: they proudly contribute to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.

In celebration of this anniversary, and the achievements of its entrepreneurs, Cartier brought together the entire CWI community in Dubai for the first Cartier Women’s Initiative Impact Awards.
This new prize was awarded to nine alumni across three categories, recognizing those who have made the most significant impact since their participation in the program.

As the Cartier Women’s Initiative now turns to look to the future, the goal is to create a global coalition of allies that can amplify positive impact by leveraging their unique strengths: bringing together their community of fellows, knowledge of the ecosystem, and ability to activate different players.

With their combined vision, passion, and drive, what lies ahead will be nothing less than a global wave of positive change.

Meet the Cartier Women’s Initiative Impact Awards laureates

Fariel Salahuddin

Country: Pakistan

Category:

Creating Opportunities for UpTrade, a barter service that allows disadvantaged rural communities to exchange livestock against water pumps and domestic solar energy systems.