On March 8th in Singapore and
March 15th in Fontainebleau, INSEAD MBAs came out in large numbers
to review business plans submitted to the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards.
The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards are
an international business plan competition created in 2006 by Cartier, the
Women's Forum, McKinsey & Company and INSEAD to identify, support and
encourage projects by women entrepreneurs.
Since their inception in 2006, the Cartier
Women’s Initiative Awards have accompanied over 120 promising female
business-owners and recognized 44 Laureates.
The mission of the Awards is threefold: 1) To identify and support
initial-phase women entrepreneurs through funding and coaching; 2) To foster
the spirit of enterprise by celebrating role models in entrepreneurship; and 3)
To create an international network of women entrepreneurs and encourage peer
networking.
INSEAD has partnered with Cartier from the
founding of the competition by helping to publicize the event, conducting the
pre-selection days, including INSEAD professors as trainers and Jury members, and
connecting students and alumni with finalists and Laureates as mentors and
coaches.
On the pre-selection days, which take place
on both the Singapore and Fontainebleau INSEAD campuses, MBAs volunteer review
the initial business plan submissions to the competition. The students, guided by Cartier and INSEAD,
break out into specific regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin
America, Europe, North America and Middle East & North Africa) and read
through the business plans, evaluating them on a tested and specific rubric.
This feedback becomes part of the selection process used by the Jury for the
competition. The pre-selection days
serve, not only to help screen through the applications, but also to inspire
INSEAD MBAs with the quality and diversity of women entrepreneurs who submit
applications.
Some feedback from MBAs who participated in
the on-campus pre-selection days:
“It
is very inspiring to see a company such as Cartier empower women through a
social initiative such as this. I enjoyed being part of the Pre-Selection
process because it gave me a chance to learn more about the role of women in
different societies, interact with people with the same interest and make a
difference in someone's life.” – Julia Bautista
“It
was a unique experience that allowed us to assess different start-up projects
from around the world, and the best part of this experience was the realization
that nothing is impossible for a woman who is passionate about what she is
doing.” – Martina Guryeva
“I
really enjoyed the whole session. It was impressive to see the level of
initiative and entrepreneurship that women from different regions in the world
come up with. It was particularly, interesting to note that most of these women
did not have a business education or a business background but were driven by a
sense of economic independence and an urge to make an impact around them in
their own way. This was very inspiring for me.” –
Rashmi Agarwal
The annual competition involves two rounds:
Round 1 (in June): Now that feedback has
been received from the pre-selection days, the Jury selects 18 finalists, the
top three projects of each region (Latin America, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan
Africa, Middle East & North Africa, Asia-Pacific). They receive coaching
from experienced business mentors to move to the next round.
Round 2 (in October): The finalists are
invited to France for the final round of competition which includes submitting
a detailed business plan and presenting their projects in front of the Jury.
They are also invited to the Annual Global Meeting of the Women's Forum, in
Deauville, where the Awards ceremony takes place.
Based on the quality of the plan and the persuasiveness
of the verbal presentation, one Laureate for each of the six regions is
selected and receives a unique and comprehensive support package: US $ 20 000
of funding, one year of coaching, networking opportunities and media exposure.
