Empowering women through Entrepreneur quest '12

Bangalore, India: Following the grand success of the first edition of Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) at the Grace Hopper Celebration of women in Computing India in Bangalore last year, Anita Borg Institute announces the second edition of Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2012 at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, sponsored by Intuit. WEQ is a unique contest that focuses primarily on providing a platform for women entrepreneurs to showcase their start-ups and interact with top VCs, angel investors, successful entrepreneurs and mentors. Women who are in the founding or leadership teams of private independent entities can participate in WEQ. The winner of the contest will be awarded a whopping Rs. 5 lakhs, sponsored by Intel & Anita Borg Institute of Technology.

The 2012 WEQ event is going to be very unique and interesting which serves the community of the Indian technical women entrepreneurs. Jagruti S. Bhikha, Director of Grace Hopper Celebration India said, "We are very pleased to have the second edition of WEQ in Bengaluru. I call them dream devils - like dare devils, but with a positive twist". This year WEQ contest will run through a two-tier selection process. At the end of the first stage, up to six finalists will be shortlisted by the selection committee, comprising of a panel of eminent VCs, angel investors and serial entrepreneurs, who will then choose a winner. The Grand Finale will take place on 14th December 2012, in Bangalore. WEQ also provides an unparalleled opportunity for the finalists to get mentored by well known business coach - Manish Singhal, Chief Saarthi @ Saarthi. Manish will help the finalists shape their business plans and pitch presentations for the Grand Finale.

Last year, the ‘Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India' had over 1000 women actively participating in the conference. WEQ 2011 saw many entrepreneurs from all over India applying for the contest. The jury had a tough time selecting the six finalists. The final pitch was challenging and exciting, with the competition running neck to neck. . Eventually, Sangeeta Banerjee from ApartmentADDA took the top honors. Talking about her experience, she expressed, "WEQ gave ApartmentADDA a major boost and provided a substantial platform to the product. The prize of INR 5L actually helped us to breathe easy and take some bold steps. We credit a major part of our decision to climb into a whole new market - Mumbai, with the extra rope that the WEQ win gave us."

Registration for the WEQ contest is open now and will be closed by 20th, November, 2012. To register, visit: http://tinyurl.com/weq2012

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India is a program of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of Indian technical women.