International business plan competition awards six women entrepreneurs with funding to develop and scale their businesses
INSEAD, the leading international business school, today announced the five-year anniversary of its partnership with the prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. The awards are an annual business plan competition for women entrepreneurs from around the world, and were created in 2006 by Cartier and the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society in partnership with INSEAD and McKinsey.
‘We are honoured to celebrate five years of partnership with the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards,’ said Loïc Sadoulet, Affiliate Professor of Economics, Former Head of the Africa Initiative at INSEAD and juror on the Sub-Saharan Africa panel for the Awards. ‘INSEAD is truly committed to supporting entrepreneurship around the world and has been involved in this important initiative the past five years to help women scale their businesses for long-term success.’
Six female entrepreneurs, each representing a major world region, were selected among 18 finalists who were coached before the final presentations. The 2011 finalists, hailing from 13 different countries, were selected from a pool of over 1,000 projects. The female entrepreneurs lead companies in sectors ranging from maternal health to waste management, engineering and continuing adult education.
Three finalists were grouped in each region, including Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & North Africa, North America and Sub-Saharan Africa and six were named 2011 laureates. The winners received the Cartier Women’s Initiative Award which grants US$20,000 in funding toward their business, as well as a full year of coaching and unique networking opportunities:
- Asia-Pacific: Chunhong Chen, Yiyuan Environmental Group, China
- Europe: Kresse Wesling, Elvis & Kresse, United Kingdom
- Latin America: Carolina Guerra, Ingerecuperar, Columbia
- Middle East & North Africa: Rana El Chemaitelly, The Little Engineer, Lebanon
- North America: Benita Singh and Summer Rayne Oakes, Source4Style, United States
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Lorna Rutto, Ecopost, Kenya
Bernard Fornas, President and CEO of Cartier International, said: ‘Alongside the business plans these entrepreneurs submitted, it is the social impact and conviction of these initiatives that appealed to our juries. Cartier considers its commitment to philanthropy as an act that should bring concrete impact to the community.’
The laureates were chosen by a set of six regional jury panels, which included Loïc Sadoulet, Professor of Economics and Head of the Africa Initiative at INSEAD. The jurors represent a wide variety of profiles, backgrounds and countries. They are responsible for selecting the laureates based on creativity, financial sustainability, and social and environmental impact.
‘I truly appreciate the work that is put in to assigning the right coach to the right finalists. It’s a personalised fit that makes the experience all the more enriching,’ said Florian Schmieg, a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, INSEAD class of 2009 graduate and Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards coach for the past two years. ‘The more I participate, the more I can build on my own experience to help new entrepreneurs, not just through my work as a consultant, but as a coach.’
The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards are a joint partnership project initiated by Cartier, the Women’s Forum, McKinsey and INSEAD. Each partner brings its expertise to the initiative. Cartier plays a leading role in the organisation of the competition and provides coaching and funding for the projects. The Women’s Forum delivers visibility and networking opportunities for the finalists, and INSEAD and McKinsey pre-select the projects and coach the finalists.
For more information on the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, please visit: http://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com
