JFD Margaret Awards – Apply Now!

The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 17 April 2024 in Paris, during the annual Digital Women’s Day event.

Categories

• “Entrepreneur” category
  • Your project is innovative and responds to one or more societal challenges: Environment & Energy (climate change, urban planning, energy transition, sustainable development), Health (access to care, diagnosis, treatment), Communication & IT (cybersecurity, IoT, AI, data science, all-digital), Transport & Mobility (vehicles, infrastructure, uses), etc.
  • Your project will be studied by JFD and the jury of the Margaret Awards 2024, on the basis of:
    • The relevance of your team: you need to justify your desire to occupy a dominant position in your market by highlighting the experience and skills of your team. Highlight the complementary skills of your workforce and your ability to execute.
    • Economic feasibility: provide information on the coherence of your financing methods and the economic viability of your project in relation to your needs.
    • Market opportunity: provide information on the size of your market. If you are banking on a new market, explain its importance and how it will develop over the next few years. The aim is to convince the jury of the relevance of your strategic choice in terms of market and product coherence.
    • Commercial traction: if your business is generating positive returns in terms of sales, contracts and partnerships signed, don’t hesitate to justify this with figures and a presentation of your partners to date, for example.
    • The quality of your video pitch: you will be judged on your ability to present yourself and your project in one minute.
• “Intrapreneur” category
  • Your project is innovative and responds to one or more societal challenges: Environment & Energy (climate change, urban planning, energy transition, sustainable development), Health (access to care, diagnosis, treatment), Communication & IT (cybersecurity, IoT, AI, data science, all-digital), Transport & Mobility (vehicles, infrastructure, uses), etc.
  • Your project will be studied by JFD and the jury of the Margaret Awards 2024, on the basis of:
    • The relevance of your motivation to become an intrapreneur within your organisation: you must justify the creation of the project within your group, as well as your experience and the team in place to support you in its development.
    • The support of your company: a recommendation is always welcome.
    • The quality of your video pitch: you will be judged on your ability to present yourself and your project in one minute.
• “Junior” category
  • The participation of minors under the age of 18 requires the consent of their parents. One of the participant’s parents or legal guardian is required to complete a special form that can be downloaded from the Internet when registering.
  • For participants aged 18 or over, a photocopy of their identity card is required.
  • The organisers reserve the right to carry out any checks, particularly on identity, before accepting any application or awarding the prize.
  • Parental consent implies acceptance of the participation of the minor or young girl aged 18, and acceptance of her presence at the prize-giving ceremony on 17 April 2024.
  • Two types of Project will be considered by JFD and the jury:
    • The Project addresses a major social issue (health, environment, energy, mobility, education, finance, banking, etc.) through the application of a technology and highlights the Participant’s entrepreneurial spirit.
    • The Project highlights the Participant’s creativity and innovative spirit through computer programming, an application, a game or the use of a technology (artificial intelligence, 3D, big data, IoT, etc.) in the development of a prototype presented by the Participant.

Benefits

• Ten prizes will be awarded:
  • Margaret Entrepreneur Europe Award
  • Margaret Entrepreneur Africa Award
  • Margaret Entrepreneur Canada Award
  • Margaret Intrapreneur Europe Award
  • Margaret Intrapreneur Africa Award
  • Margaret Intrapreneur Canada Award
  • Margaret Junior Europe Award
  • Margaret Junior Africa Award
  • Margaret Junior Canada Award
  • Coup de coeur Margaret des territoires
• The award is nominative and cannot be awarded to another person.
• The winners will benefit from JFD’s growth acceleration programme for one year, in collaboration with its partners.
• JFD integrates les Margaret Award winners into its communications strategy and provides them with €1m worth of media exposure for one year.
• They position les Margarets for local or international public/media speaking opportunities, and thus develop their visibility/notoriety with the general public, major companies, investors, potential partners and political leaders.
• Les Margarets benefit from VIP invitations to events organised or co-organised by JFD in Europe, Africa and Canada. They also benefit from a one-year premium membership at the JFD Club, valued at €3,000 excluding VAT.
• JFD will support and simplify all connections between les Margarets, leading to synergies with its partners, startups, corporations, public and private organisations, and will accompany les Margarets in the acceleration of their projects: coaching, mentoring, funding opportunities for entrepreneurs, scholarships for juniors, etc.
• The Margaret Entrepreneurs receive:
  • Media visibility worth €1 million.
  • Mentoring & coaching: support for personal development and business growth from the partners.
  • Public speaking opportunities at major international events.
  • Premium one-year membership of the JFD Club (value: €3,000 excl. VAT/year)
  • Financing opportunities through contacts with JFD partner funds and investors.
• The Margaret Intrapreneurs receive:
  • Visibilité médiatique d’une valeur de 1 million d’euros.
  • Media visibility worth €1 million.
  • Mentoring & coaching: personal and professional development support from JFD and its partners.
  • Public speaking opportunities at major international events.
  • Premium one-year membership of the JFD Club (value: €3,000 excl. VAT/year)
  • Funding opportunities through contacts with JFD partner funds and investors.
• Les Margaret Juniors receive:
  • Media exposure worth €1 million.
  • Mentoring & Coaching: support for personal development and project management from the partners.
  • Training and workshops provided by the partners.
  • A €1,000 scholarship.
  • Premium one-year membership of the JFD Club (value: €3,000 excl. VAT/year)

Eligibility Criteria

• Participation in the competition is free and there is no obligation to purchase. All entries must be made via the Internet, to the exclusion of any other means. In particular, entries by post are excluded.
• The application must be submitted exclusively by a woman who is the founder or co-founder of an innovative company, for the “Entrepreneur” category, an employee of a company who has developed a project in agreement with her employer, while remaining an employee, for the “Intrapreneur” category, or a young girl aged between 7 and 18 for the “Junior” category.
• The participant must be Canadian or a citizen of a European or African country:
• Canada: the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and the territories of Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.
• Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (mainland and DOM TOM), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
• Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, South Africa, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
• The contestant warrants that she holds, directly or by licence, all intellectual and industrial property rights necessary for the presentation, development and marketing of the product or solution defended before the jury of the Margaret Awards.
• The participant certifies that the content of her product and/or solution is original and innovative, serving a better world.

For more information, visit Journée de la Femme Digitale (JFD).