Since its inception in 2006, the Cartier Women's Initiative (open in new tab) has provided support to over 200 purpose-driven women entrepreneurs from more than 60 countries around the world. 876 applications from 142 countries were received for the 2021 Fellows, from which 24 international women business owners and women-owned businesses were selected. Each of the eight winners will receive $100,000, and the remaining finalists will receive $30,000, as well as non-financial support such as training, workshops, and networking opportunities provided by Cartier.

The eight 2021 winners will be honored at a three-day event that includes a panel discussion with past Women's Initiative Fellows, guest speakers such as Yara Shahidi and Maria Shriver, and performances by MILCK and pianist Hatia Buniatishvili. The program was presented Wednesday on the last day of virtual programming.

The eight winners from each region are:

North America Rebecca Hui (USA) Founder and CEO, Roots Studio

Latin America Valentina Rogacheva (Mexico) - Founder, Verqor

East Asia Corina Huang (China and Taiwan) - Founder Founder and CEO, Boncha Boncha International Company

South Asia and Oceania: Rebecca Parkasky (New Zealand) - Co-Founder and Director, The Better Packaging Co.

Europe Andrea Barber (Spain) - Founder & CEO, RatedPower

Middle East & North Africa: Bazima Abdulrahman (Iraq) - Founder & CEO, Kesk

Sub-Saharan Africa: Seynabou Dieng (Mali) - Founder & CEO, Maya SARL

Science and Technology Pioneer Award: Oriana Bretschger (USA) - Founder and CEO, Aquacycl

Full program details and information on this year's 24 fellows can be found here (opens in new tab).