Anita Borg Institute to host WEQ 2014 in November

BANGALORE : The Anita Borg Institute (ABI) is hosting the fourth edition of the Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2014 in November. The event will be held during the fifth annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India (GHCI). The winner of the WEQ 2014 will be awarded Rs 5 lakh as cash prize that's co-sponsored by Intuit.
WEQ is a contest designed to promote early-stage ventures led by women entrepreneurs.It focuses on talented women technologists in the founding or leadership team of early stage start-ups who have applied technology to solve meaningful business problems. “The development of high-potential women entrepreneurs is extremely critical to India’s energetic economy. The significant increase in women-led businesses in the last few years is truly encouraging and I am confident that the WEQ platform will identify and support women entrepreneurs to set up innovative companies that can lead to job creation and business opportunities in local and international markets,” said Geetha Kannan, managing director of the Anita Borg Institute in India.
The WEQ contest will go through a two-level selection process. The selection committee will evaluate all the business plans received and select the best six start-ups based on several criteria including customer need being addressed, competitive business models and effective and innovative use of technology.
Last year, more than 140 women entrepreneurs from all over India had applied for WEQ 2013. Mausmi Ambastha from Intellocut was the winner for WEQ 2013.