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Cartier & Cartier Philanthropy

Corporate foundation · Anchor program: Women's Initiative

Corporate foundation Global · 65 countries Health · Livelihoods · Education Active call

Cartier's philanthropic capital deploys through two distinct vehicles — the Maison's brand-driven flagship Women's Initiative, and the foundation's longer-horizon environmental & livelihoods grants. The two programmes share decision-makers but run on separate cycles and reporting cadences.

View active call → Open in Studio

5-yr deployed

$42M

Women's Initiative · 2020–2024

Avg award

$87K

Grant capital, non-dilutive

Cohort size

33

Per annual cycle

Africa-MENA share

38%

Of last 3 cohorts

About the funder

Founded 2006, headquartered in Geneva. Cartier Philanthropy operates as a Swiss-registered foundation funded by the Maison Cartier (Richemont group). It supports two thematic streams — women's economic development and environmental & livelihoods — through approximately 25 multi-year grants at any time.

The Women's Initiative is run separately as a brand-marketing-anchored program rather than as a foundation grant, which means decision-making sits with Cartier International's executive team rather than the foundation board. Application criteria are stricter on commercial viability than typical foundation programmes.

Three programs

  • Cartier Women's Initiative — annual award cycle, 33 laureates × $100K. Selective; commercial venture stage.
  • Cartier Philanthropy livelihoods — 3-yr restricted grants, $400K–$2M typical, partner-NGO model.
  • Cartier Philanthropy nature — biodiversity & ocean grants, 3-yr restricted.

RFP & cycle history

Last 8 cycles tracked by IWHF (Initiative only):

CycleThemeAwardedNotes
2026 (active)Open · 3 streams—View call
2025Tech for Impact33 × $100K11 regions
2024Diversity, Equity, Inclusion33 × $100K—
2023Science & Tech Pioneer9 × $100K (special)STEM laureates
2022Latin America & Caribbean22 × $100KRegional focus
2021Africa22 × $100KRegional focus
2020Sub-Saharan Africa21 × $100K—
2019Open / Multi-region21 × $100KPre-restructure

Winners in your category Pro tier

Africa-MENA, women-led, healthcare or femtech — last 5 cohorts:

  • Tibu Health · Kenya — Primary care platform (2024)
  • Numida · Uganda — SME credit (2023)
  • Kasha · Rwanda — Last-mile women's health logistics (2022)
  • Iyris · KSA — Agritech (2024)
  • Kola Market · Nigeria — Wholesale platform (2023)

Pattern: applicants with third-party verified impact KPIs (Acumen, B Lab, certified audit) appear in 7 of 8 winners. Track this in Studio.

Frequent co-funders

Funders that appear alongside Cartier in laureate cap tables over the last 36 months:

Tory Burch Foundation7 overlaps
Mastercard Foundation5 overlaps
DBL Partners4 overlaps
Acumen Fund4 overlaps
Skoll Foundation3 overlaps
Echoing Green3 overlaps

How they are approached Pro tier

Beyond the public application channel, IWHF tracks three pathways where Cartier capital actually originates:

Public application portal

The primary route. ~94% of awards come through here. Anyone can apply; decision panel is blind in round 1.

INSEAD network nominations

Faculty & alumni can nominate ventures directly into round 2. Strong route if you have a credible INSEAD connection.

Cartier International executive sourcing

Rare. Specific regional CEOs have on occasion sourced laureates from regional summits (Mexico City, Lagos, Mumbai). High noise, low predictability.

IWHF coverage

  • Funder profile · primary-source verified · last updated April 30, 2026
  • Friday Briefing · May 22 — Cartier's 2026 cycle: what changed
  • Sector deep-dive · April — Where Cartier capital has actually landed
  • Studio template · “Cartier concept note 2026” — pre-loaded sections
Read all coverage →