L’Oréal USA revealed its open call for nominations for the Women in Digital NEXT Generation Awards. Now entering its fifth year, L’Oréal USA created the program to support female entrepreneurs working in digital fields by providing them with the opportunity to launch and scale new technologies in partnership with L’Oréal USA brands. The Women in Digital program provides recognition, exposure and mentorship opportunities to help female entrepreneurs elevate their profiles, expand their networks and grow their businesses.  Since its inception, the program has created a network of more than 2,000 female-operated companies.

The NEXT Generation Awards are presented to three companies that are creating disruptive and innovative technology solutions for businesses. The winners will be invited to participate in L’Oréal USA’s annual Inspiration Day, where more than 500 L’Oréal USA marketing executives and employees will vote on a Grand Prize winner who will receive a paid pilot with a L’Oréal USA brand. Past winners of the program include notable names such as: Kathryn Minshew, Founder and CEO of The Muse; Bettina Hein, Founder and CEO of Pixability and Rachel Tipograph, Founder and CEO of MikMak.

“This powerful community of women entrepreneurs that we were proud to start five years ago is now having a measurable impact. Many of the winners we supported in the early years of the program have gone on to develop groundbreaking technologies that enable L’Oréal to connect with our consumers in new ways,” said Rachel Weiss, Vice President of Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship at L’Oréal USA and Chair of the Women in Digital program. “The success of the women involved in this program is a true testament to our mission. This year, we’re excited to continue growing L’Oréal USA’s leadership in digital innovation and expand our pipeline of diverse female entrepreneurs.”

 The program also offers winners mentorship from the esteemed L’Oréal USA Women in Digital Advisory Board, which includes: Joanne Bradford, Chief Operating Officer atSoFi; Cheryl Cheng, Partner, BlueRun Ventures; Beth Comstock, Vice Chair, General Electric; Carolyn Everson, Vice President of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook;Brooke Hammerling, Founder, Brew; Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group; Jalak Jobanputra, Managing Director and Founding Partner, FuturePerfect Ventures; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder at Ellevest; Karin Klein, ‎Founder, Venture Capitalist, Strategist at ‎Bloomberg Beta; Ann Miura-Ko, Co-Founding Partner at Floodgate; Kara Nortman, Partner at UPFront Ventures.

L’Oréal USA continues to see the measurable impact of the program and has negotiated pilots with six of the winning female entrepreneurs thus far.  Previous winners have experienced tremendous business growth and have collectively raised over $300 million in funding.

Women-founded companies can apply for the 2016 L’Oréal USA Women in Digital NEXT Generation Awards at: www.lorealwomenindigital.com through July 18.