(From left) Dr. Lynne Lim, founder and CEO of NOUSQ from Singapore, Gregory Hallak, managing director of Cartier Vietnam, and Marina Trần Vũ, founder of EQUO at the 2024 Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow Series held in HCM City on May 10. — Photo courtesy of Cartier Vietnam

HCM CITY — Marina Trần Vũ, founder of EQUO, a sustainable brand that provides an array of sustainable materials and compostable products, has become the first businessperson from Việt Nam to be honoured at the Cartier Women’s Initiative awards.

EQUO produces 100 per cent plastic-free and compostable products such as straws, utensils, food containers, shopping bags, and water bottles from materials such as grass, rice, coconut, sugarcane, and coffee.

For individual consumers, the company’s products make choosing sustainability as easy as sticking with their current routines.

Since its founding, EQUO has kept approximately 30 million pieces of plastic out of the environment and aims to have an even bigger impact by influencing the attitudes and behaviors of consumers.

“We are replacing at least four or five of the top 10 worst single-use plastic items in the world with our sustainable alternatives. These are small solutions that will have a big impact collectively,” Marina said.

The 2024 Cartier Women’s Initiative Fellow Series was held in HCM City on May 10 to introduce two fellows selected for this year’s edition of the CWI Awards: Marina Trần Vũ and Dr. Lynne Lim from Singapore, founder and CEO of NOUSQ, which develops and manufactures the world’s first robotic handheld applicator that revolutionises ventilation ear tube surgery for the otitis media.

Marina and Lynne are two of the 33 fellows selected for this year’s edition that represent the top three businesses within the nine regional awards and two thematic awards. These fellows are recognised for their remarkable achievements and meaningful solutions to the most pressing global challenges.

This year, for the first time in its 17-year history, the CWI has recognised the impact of women entrepreneurs from Peru, Morocco and Việt Nam.

The first, second and third place awardees of each of the 11 awards will be announced during the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards ceremony that will be held on May 22 in Shenzhen, China.

The first-place awardees will take home US$100,000 in grant funding, while the second and third place awardees will receive $60,000 and $30,000, respectively.

In addition to the grants, all 33 fellows will also benefit from tailored mentoring and coaching, media visibility, networking opportunities and education courses from leading business school INSEAD.

Founded in 2006, the CWI aims to enable women entrepreneurs driving change to achieve their full potential.

It has evolved into a comprehensive leadership programme that has supported 330 women entrepreneurs hailing from 66 countries. It has awarded a total of $9.5 million in grant funding to support fellows’ businesses and has established a strong network of over 700 community members covering more than 66 countries. — VNS