Women initiatives in Paris
I was staring up at her, full bellied, carried by angels. Madelaine triumphant. She was central to the church named in her honor, The Eglise de la Madelaine. Simply called “La Madeleine,” it was originally built as a temple to the glory of Napolean’s army in the 1760s. But after the fall of Napolean, King Louis XVIII decided to use it as a church. In the apse, and towering as the central piece is a statue of the woman that looks very much as though she is pregnant.
How fitting, I told myself, as I sat there in the empty church, enjoying the silence after a whole week of hectic activities. I was in Paris to celebrate women’s initiatives of birthing entrepreneurial businesses. Here was a woman now rising, symbolic of triumph and birthing, too (well, Madelaine obviously looks pregnant), just as all the women I had been with for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. I (of ECHOstore) was a finalist from Asia; there were three from each continent brought to Paris by Cartier in support of our various businesses. Six years ago, Cartier, alongside McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school, launched The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, an international business plan competition to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs.
The support for women’s entrepreneurship has been rising to give strength to the most vulnerable category of entrepreneurs: women who are starting their businesses. Support is not only through funding, but also for business coaching, international linkages and peer networking. The experience was fantastic — being in Paris, but more so being with 17 other finalists from five continents of the globe! And some with such fantastic ideas. For example, in Africa: bringing toilets and the full chain of waste management all the way to recycling for biogas; or breaking the taboo of menstruation that keeps girls away from school and work and answering this by creating sanitary napkins made from banana pulp; from the US: solar lights and clean water products for disaster areas; from Europe, chemotherapy and endometriosis medical products, medical diagnosis and online platforms that give women engineers in the middle east jobs, and give Indian women access to jobs — such wonderful innovative products, services and business ideas that would really make this world a better place. I think it would really have been tough to be a jury member! ECHOstore was called in to submit the concept and plan again this year (the first time was in 2011) and although I didn’t win the Laureat for Asia (the jurors felt ECHOstore was strong and had all the right strategies and tools that they wanted to give the award to someone whose life and business would be changed by it), bringing the story of the sustainable lifestyle and a Filipino women’s led company that supports women community and suppliers and whose customers are mostly women brings ECHOstore right at the heart of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, and was so personally rewarding. The whole experience, including coaching sessions, sessions with media, socials that only the Cartier luxury brand could host — are all now memories of a lifetime.
And how I rejoiced with all the Laureats! Bubbly and friendly Latin American Gabriella Flores had her Kirah Design in Bolivia that makes high-end interior accessories out or recycled wood handcrafted by artisans. North American-Chinese Ting Shih’s Clickmedix based in the United States offers affordable mobile access to remote healthcare solutions. Ting told me they have been trying to work with local mobile phone providers in the Philippines to offer this service also. It was jackpot for Ting with this Cartier prize plus an engagement ring and proposal she got from her Filipino-American fiancé who proposed to her under the romantic evening lights of the Eiffel Tower.
From Europe, quiet and steady Cécile Real of Endodiag from France was chosen for her biopsy and diagnosis tools for endometriosis. From Sub-Saharan Africa, the partnership between two continents of African Julienne Ingabire and Harvard-schooled Elizabeth Scharpf under the company Sustainable Health Enterprises brings to Rwanda low-cost, eco-friendly sanitary pads.
Middle East and North Africa’s Iba Masood from the United Arab Emirates was the youngest entrepreneur of the group, turning 23 years old during the awards day. Her Gradberry is an online hub to connect students and graduates with jobs. My co-finalist and the Laureat for Asia-Pacific is fashionista entrepreneur Lianna Gunawan of Indonesia who, with her La Spina Collections creates handmade shoes promoting Indonesian expertise, culture and tradition.
For the first time in the Cartier Awards tradition, there was a unanimous decision to award an exceptional donation of $20,000 to Europe finalist Michèle Boisdron-Celle and her company, ODPM, which has developed solutions to guard against the toxicity of chemotherapy by tailoring the dosages of each patient. The special prize of $20,000 can save 600 lives through 600 personalized protocols.
In the Philippines, 56 percent of our 98 percent of enterprises are run by women. Global figures also show that once women take over livelihood and start businesses, economic empowerment begins to happen and the lives of the next generation is made all the more humane. This Cartier Awards experience has only made me become more single-minded in supporting other women and thus empowering them too! Women: always birthing new ideas, new life, new potentials for a world that should and can be made better.
