ENTERPRISE54 – Here’s another wonderful opportunity for African women entrepreneurs to get global recognition and world-class support. French luxury company Cartier has opened applications for its 2015 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards which aims to celebrate and promote the spirit of enterprise of female entrepreneurship.

Since 2006, the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards has supported over a 100 female entrepreneurs worldwide, selecting each year, 3 finalists and 1 Laureate each, from 6 world regions – Latin America, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East & North Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Finalists get access to coaching, entrepreneurial workshop and media visibility while the Laureates receive a unique and comprehensive support package of $20, 000 funding, media exposure and one year of coaching, and networking opportunities facilitated by the award’s partners INSEAD and McKinsey. That’s huge!

To be eligible, prospective companies have to be original for-profit business, in the start-up phase of between one and three years of operation, and the main leadership position must be filled by a woman.

Achenyo Idachaba, founder of Mitimeth, an Ibadan-based social enterprise which deploys weeds in the production of woven items, was the winning Laureate representing Africa at the 2014 Edition of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. Commenting on the awards, she says: “It is an honour and priviledge.”

Ghana’s Afrocentric Bamboo CEO Winnifred Selby was a finalist at the entrepreneurship event.

Join the Awards Community and apply now to become one of the 2015 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards finalists.

The application deadline is February 27, 2015 10am Paris time (CET).