Women entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the third edition of the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards. The international competition is aimed at women entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development. The application deadline is Feb. 13. Winners will be announced Oct. 17.

The contest will honor five innovative women, one per continent, who lead creative, sustainable and socially responsible businesses. Each laureate will win $20,000; personalized coaching for a full year by McKinsey consultants, Cartier managers and INSEAD alumni; and an invitation to the Women's Forum Global Meeting in Deauville, France. Finalists, announced June 18, will also receive personalized coaching through Oct. 14.

Organized as a business plan competition, the contest was created in 2006 by Cartier and the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society, with support from McKinsey & Co. management consulting firm and INSEAD management school.