Les Margaret Awards is an annual award ceremony that recognizes the achievements of women entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from Europe, Africa, and Canada whose innovative projects address major societal challenges. The awards are named after Margaret Hamilton, the director of the software engineering division that developed embedded software for NASA’s Apollo space program, which enabled the first human landing on the moon.
The Les Margaret Awards are organized by JFD, an international growth accelerator for women who create disruptive innovations and take bold technological bets to change the world. Founded in 2013 by Delphine Remy-Boutang, JFD has become more than just an event, with other initiatives such as the Margaret Foundation, the JFD Club, the Affirmative Act meetings, the White Shirt movement, the JFD Manifesto, and a book titled “Elles changent le monde” (They change the world) under its umbrella.
The Les Margaret Awards have three categories: Entrepreneurs, Intrapreneurs, and Juniors. To be eligible, applicants must be female founders or co-founders of a tech startup for the Entrepreneur category, have developed an innovative project in agreement with their employer while remaining an employee for the Intrapreneur category, or be young women under 18 with a project that highlights their creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial spirit for the Junior category. Additionally, applicants must be citizens of a European, or African country, or from Canada, and their projects must be innovative and respond to societal issues.
The application deadline for the Les Margaret Awards is January 8, 2024. After the call for applications is closed, the finalists will be pre-selected by JFD and presented to a jury of experts on February 8, 2024. The jury will choose ten winners in the following categories: Entrepreneurs Europe-Africa-Canada, Intrapreneurs Europe-Africa-Canada, Juniors Europe-Africa-Canada, and Territorial Favourite. The Margaret Awards ceremony will be held on April 17, 2024. If you meet the eligibility criteria and are interested in applying for the Les Margaret Awards, visit the Margaret Foundation website at docs.google.com.
