Cartier Women’s Initiative Science & Technology Pioneer Award 2026 – YOA

Deadline: June 24, 2025

Applications are open for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Science & Technology Pioneer Award 2026. The Cartier Women’s Initiative is an annual worldwide entrepreneurship program that goals to drive change by empowering girls impression entrepreneurs. The Science & Technology Pioneer awards acknowledge and fund gifted impression entrepreneurs from around the globe who’re leveraging enterprise as a power for good.

Open to girls entrepreneurs from any nation and sector, the Science & Technology Pioneer Award highlights disruptive options constructed round distinctive, protected, or onerous-to-reproduce technological or scientific advances that require heavy R&D, an extended commercialization cycle, excessive capital depth, expertise danger, and complexity.

Benefits

1. Financial Capital Support:

• US$ 100,000 grant for every first-place awardee
• US$ 60,000 grant for every second-place awardee
• US$ 30,000 grant for every third-place awardee

2. Human Capital Support (FELLOWSHIP):

The fellowship program focuses on a number of key areas of human capital assist for girls impression entrepreneurs and oers a mix of 1:1 coaching and collective workshops.

• Leadership communications and media coaching work -shops
• In-person INSEAD Women Impact Entrepreneurship Program
• 1:1 coaching in particular enterprise areas
• 1:1 govt management teaching by The Women’ Impact Alliance

3. Social Capital Support:

Throughout this system, they attempt to focus on the social and environmental impression created by our fellows and bridge connections between impression entrepreneurs and their supporters.

• International publicity and media visibility
• Support and mentorship by jury members throughout the fellowship
• Access to a lifelong neighborhood of 500+ lively neighborhood members
• Ongoing assist for the event of the fellows’ impression companies

Eligibility

• The enterprise needs to be primarily based on the event of a brand new expertise, a fancy engineering course of, or a scientific discovery, and never solely on a disruptive enterprise mannequin. Development of the expertise and product, from thought (TRL 1)* to commercialization (TRL 9)* ought to take no less than 2 years.
• The enterprise ought to exhibit the potential to have a major optimistic impression in its trade. It ought to contribute to no less than one of many United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The enterprise needs to be designed to generate adequate income to assist its operations and return some stage of revenue to its homeowners. Non-profit enterprises aren’t eligible.
• The enterprise needs to be within the preliminary part of its improvement or development. It will need to have no less than a proof of idea, a prototype, or be within the course of of manufacturing one (minimal TRL 4) and should not have been commercializing its ultimate services or products for greater than 6 years.
• The applicant have to be a girl and she or he musy fill one of many foremost management positions, for instance as CEO, COO, CTO, General Manager, or Managing Director of the enterprise.
• The enterprise have to be majority owned by its founders and crew members on the time of application. Moreover, one of many following circumstances have to be met: (1) a girl or a number of girls are the most important shareholder(s) of founder fairness (not complete fairness), or (2) the applicant owns a share larger or equal to that of her co-founder(s), or (3) if not part of the founding crew, the applicant owns a share larger or equal to that of the enterprise (co-)founder(s). Sole proprietorships are ineligible for the Science & Technology Pioneer Award.
• A great command of the English language is required. We require the Common European Framework of Reference Level B2 or above.
• The applicant should decide to taking part within the fellowship program from January 2026 to December 2026.

Selection Criteria

• Embedded optimistic impression
• Market evaluation and match
• Sustainable enterprise and monetary mannequin
• Strategy and execution
• Team
• Leadership character of applicant

Application

All purposes have to be submitted in English.

Deadline: June 24, 2025, 2p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST)

Click here to apply.

For extra data, go to Cartier Women’s Initiative.