Cartier Champions Women Entrepreneurs

ACROSS THE WORLD, women entrepreneurs are making a difference to countless lives through their successful, socially-responsible startups that aid the less-fortunate. Audrey Cheng, for instance, left the United States for Kenya where she founded the Moringa School that teaches professional coding to young Africans. Similarly, Hanan Khader launched an online platform to teach coding to children and teenagers in Jordan.

And then there's Diana Yousef who invented portable toilets that require no plumbing or electricity - a potential boon to some 2.4 billion poor people who live without sanitation facilities. Similarly, Julia Romer created a solar-powered refrigerator for the reliable storage of vaccines, a much-needed appliance in war-torn countries.

They are just four of 18 women who are the 2018 finalists of the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards. Founded in 2006, the awards seek to recognise women-run, for-profit businesses working to create strong social impact. The finalists were picked from over 130 countries and 2,800 applications - almost twice the number of applications received last year.