Editor’s Note
This article highlights the achievement of Amaia Rodríguez Sola, co-founder of Gravity Wave, who was awarded second prize in the Europe category of the Cartier Women’s Initiative. Her work exemplifies how entrepreneurial ventures can drive meaningful environmental and social impact.
Amaia Rodríguez Sola, co-founder of the company Gravity Wave, has been awarded by the French high jewelry firm Cartier. She received the second prize in the Europe category of the Cartier Women’s Initiative, which recognizes women who, through their businesses or initiatives, achieve social or environmental improvement. The award was received on May 22nd in Shenzhen, China, which hosted the ceremony honoring 3 women in each of the 11 distinguished categories worldwide. The Navarra entrepreneur was one of them and the only Spaniard. In addition to receiving 60,000 euros, the prize gives her access to personalized mentoring and advisory services, as well as a network of contacts within a community of entrepreneurs and training at the Insead business school.
Amaia Rodríguez (born November 13, 1997) launched Gravity Wave with her brother Julen in 2020, during the height of the pandemic. The company is based in Calpe (Alicante). With 20 employees, it partners with fishermen from the Mediterranean, Cantabrian Sea, and Atlantic to remove plastic waste from the sea, primarily fishing nets. Subsequently, it recycles this material and transforms it into furniture and other long-life products. Since its founding four years ago, the company has collected more than 500 tons of plastic and fishing nets, thanks to its network of 7,000 fishermen located in 150 ports across Spain, Italy, Greece, and Egypt.
The ceremony by Cartier, a reference in the world of luxury in high jewelry, watchmaking, perfumes, leather goods, and accessories, was hosted by writer Sandi Toksvig. Cyrille Vigneron, CEO and President of Cartier, also spoke.
During this celebration, the call for applications for the 2025 edition was announced, which will be held in Japan, at the Osaka, Kansai World Expo. The categories will be based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
