Funding

Grant

Program dates

TBA

Entrepreneurship•Hybrid

Cartier Women’s Initiative Science & Technology Pioneer Award

Cartier Women’s Initiative

Application Deadline

Closed · June 16, 2026

Reopens ~Jun 2027

Official Page

The Science & Technology Pioneer Award is the thematic award of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, the impact-entrepreneurship programme Cartier has run since 2006. It was created in 2021 for women running for-profit ventures built on unique, protected or hard-to-reproduce scientific and technological advances — the kind that need heavy R&D, a long commercialisation cycle and patient capital. Three fellows are selected globally each edition, alongside twenty-seven fellows drawn from nine regional awards, and all thirty join the same fellowship year. Winners receive a grant, a year of training and coaching, international media exposure, and lifelong access to the programme’s community. The initiative reports 330 fellows from 66 countries and USD 14.1 million in support distributed since 2006.

Benefits & funding

  • First place: a USD 100,000 grant. Second place: USD 60,000. Third place: USD 30,000. Three fellows are ranked in this category each edition.
  • The grant is not an equity investment. The programme does not dictate how it is spent, though fellows are expected to comply with impact reporting; tax on the grant is the recipient’s responsibility.
  • A year-long fellowship programme running January to December of the award year, opening with leadership and media communications training delivered online in groups and individually.
  • A three-day INSEAD Women’s Impact Entrepreneurship Program, taught in person on managing, scaling, financing and measuring impact.
  • One-to-one customised training in a track the fellow chooses: impact measurement, strategic finance, fundraising and investor management, revenue growth and sales strategy, or organisational management.
  • Eight hours of one-to-one executive leadership coaching over six months with certified coaches from the Women’s Impact Alliance.
  • Three individual feedback sessions with jury members, plus well-being events across the year.
  • International media exposure and lifelong membership of a community of more than 500 entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem leaders.

Eligibility

  • Open to women from any country and any sector; the applicant must be at least 18 years old.
  • A woman must hold a main leadership position — CEO, COO, CTO, General Manager or Managing Director — and own a share equal to or greater than that of any co-founder.
  • The business must be for-profit and self-sustaining through revenue. Non-profits and sole proprietorships are not accepted, and ventures drawing more than 30 percent of their financing from donations or grants are told their chances of passing preliminary screening are very slim.
  • The business must be an independent entity, financially separate from its founders and majority owned by its founders and team members. University and research spin-offs are accepted in this category only.
  • The technology must require at least two years to move from concept to commercialisation and must have reached at least laboratory validation, technology readiness level 4.
  • The final product must have been commercialised for no more than five years, and the company must not have raised a Series A round.
  • The business must contribute to at least one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.
  • Applications are submitted in English, with a stated language level of CEFR B2 or above.
  • Fellows commit to the full fellowship year — January 2027 to December 2027 for the 2027 edition.
  • One application per business, and one award category per edition.

Can you apply?

Worth a closer look

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  • Gender requirement

    Female

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  • Age requirement

    ≥ 18 yrs

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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

  1. 1
    Watch the award page for the application window. The 2027 edition opened on 16 April 2026 and closed on 16 June 2026, both at 2pm CEST.
  2. 2
    Read the applicant guide, the selection criteria and scoring rubric, and the terms and conditions, published as PDFs on the award page.
  3. 3
    Register on the Cartier Women’s Initiative application portal and complete the online form in English. The portal closes automatically at the deadline.
  4. 4
    Screening and shortlisting against the eligibility rules and the scoring rubric.
  5. 5
    In-depth due diligence on the strongest applicants in each category.
  6. 6
    Jury presentation, after which the jury selects and ranks the top three fellows in the category.
  7. 7
    Applicants learn the outcome by December of the application year; fellows are announced publicly the following spring, and the awards week and ceremony are held in June.

Program timeline

  1. 16 April 2026

    Applications open for the 2027 edition, 2pm CEST

  2. Application deadline, 2pm CEST

    16 June 2026

  3. Applicants notified of the outcome

    By December 2026

  4. Fellows announced publicly

    Spring 2027

  5. Fellowship year begins — communications and media training, well-being activities

    January 2027

  6. In-person induction, INSEAD Women’s Impact Entrepreneurship Program, awards week and ceremony

    June 2027

  7. Customised training and executive leadership coaching

    July to December 2027

  8. Fellowship year ends

    December 2027