The Cartier Women's Initiative Awards Ceremony was a night of inspiring speeches and impressive presentations by 33 laureates from around the world. The event was held at the prestigious Salle Pleyel in Paris and began with a moving speech by Lebanese-British barrister Amal Clooney. The Cartier Women's Initiative was established in 2006 with the aim of empowering women through mentorship, connections, and financial grants. Over the years, the program has recognized and supported 262 women from 62 countries and has awarded a total of USD $7,440,000 in grant funding.
2023 Cartier Women’s Initiative Middle East first prize winner Khadija Elbedweihy, founder PraxiLabs. Courtesy Cartier
The Cartier Women's Initiative has been a life-changing opportunity for many of its fellows. It has boosted their self-confidence, expanded their networks, and helped them develop crucial business skills. The program has also supported the development and growth of their respective businesses, resulting in improvements in visibility and business strategy.
The first-place winner of the 2023 Cartier Women’s Initiative Middle East award was Khadija Elbedweihy from Egypt. She is the founder of PraxiLabs, an e-learning platform that makes immersive virtual science labs accessible, usable, and affordable for educational institutions and schools. This innovation is transforming the way science labs are accessed and used in the educational sector. Renad Aljefri from Saudi Arabia was awarded second place for her electronic platform, Ad Astra Therapy. This platform links specialists with families of special-needs children to provide high-quality education and rehabilitation services. Farah Emara from Egypt, founder of FreshSource, the MENA region’s first technology-driven agricultural supply platform, won third place. Her innovation is transforming the lives of producers, businesses, and consumers by making the agricultural supply chain more efficient and transparent.
Renad Aljefri, founder of Ad Astra. Courtesy Cartier
The first-place awardee, Khadija Elbedweihy, received US$100,000 in grant funding, while the second and third-place awardees, Renad Aljefri and Farah Emara respectively, received US$60,000 and US$30,000. All 33 fellows of the Cartier Women's Initiative benefit from tailored mentoring and coaching, media visibility, networking opportunities, and education courses from the leading business school INSEAD.
Cyrille Vigneron, President, and CEO of Cartier International expressed his delight at expanding their recognition of changemakers across the world with the new regional awards and the new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award and stated, "Women have always had a pivotal role at Cartier, who has actively supported women entrepreneurs for more than 16 years. We are thrilled, this year, to further expand our recognition of changemakers across the world with our two new regional awards and our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award."
Farah Emara, founder of FreshSource. Courtesy Cartier
For more information about the Cartier Women's Initiative, visit their website at Cartierwomensinitiative.com.
