Three Australian women – Alexandra Cannizzaro, Ruby Riethmuller and Rosie Dumbrell – have been chosen as fellows for this year’s Cartier Women’s Initiative, an annual international program designed to support and empower women impact entrepreneurs.
The program, which has been running for two decades, puts the spotlight on women-run and women-owned ventures around the world. It also provides fellows with financial, social and human capital to support their business growth and leadership skills.
The initiative selects fellows across eight regions and in 2026, it celebrates its 20th anniversary under the theme of “Lighting the path”.
All three fellows for the Oceania region this year come from Australia. They will join 27 other fellows at the Cartier Women’s Initiative awards ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, in June.
The programme offers significant grant funding, with first-place awardees receiving USD $100,000, second-place awardees receiving USD $60,000 and third-place awardees receiving USD $30,000.
Who are Oceania’s three fellows?
Alexandra Cannizzaro
Alexandra Cannizzaro is the founder of Platform Zero, a digital marketplace helping growers and wholesalers sell fresh produce faster to reduce food waste from farm to plate.
Cannizzaro started the company to provide a digital solution that connects growers and wholesalers to buyers in real time, and reduce the large volumes of surplus produce that are sent to landfill each year.
To date, Platform Zero has diverted more than 43,000 kilograms of produce from landfill, saving over 27,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions.
“Our mission is to reshape how fresh produce moves through the market – cutting costs, cutting waste and leading with transparency,” Alexandra Cannizzaro said.
Ruby Riethmuller
Ruby Riethmuller is the Founder and CEO of Womn-Kind, a leading preventative mental health education platform that supports girls and gender diverse young people. With a focus on building wellbeing, leadership and belonging, Riethmuller was motivated to create the platform after navigating her own anxiety and identity as an LGBTQIA+ woman.
To date, Womn-Kind has supported more than 30,000 young people across Australia and 37 countries, with 60 per cent living in regional, rural and remote areas.
“Our focus is empowering a generation of girls and young women to grow into their identity, voice and confidence,” Riethmuller says.
Rosie Dumbrell
Women’s physiotherapist Rosie Dumbrell is the founder of Everform Therapywear, a femtech company creating wearable, non-invasive solutions to help women recover from incontinence, pelvic pain and prolapse.
Dumbrell founded the company after a personal experience with prolapse and incontinence, an issue that impacts more than 200 million women globally.
Everform Therapywear uses patented medical-grade compression garments, to reduce leakage and discomfort with the aim of boosting women’s confidence and reversing their symptoms.
The products also reduce reliance on disposable produce, diverting around 750,000 pads from landfill each year.
“I’m passionate about helping women get back to the things they love, without fear or limitation. We exist, so she CAN,” Dumbrell says.