Bangalore, November 25, 2017: The AnitaB.org India, a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing and technology last week announced the Top 10 winners of the 7th edition of the Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2017, a unique contest for technology start-ups founded by women. All the Top 10 winners received an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to Silicon Valley, US.
“Technology start-ups are driving innovation for almost all industries. The percentage of male entrepreneurs is much more than the women and we have to work towards making it 50:50. Women need to be equally included in driving innovation and economic growth that should be enjoyed by all, irrespective of one’s gender. It has been encouraging to have the support of our partners DST, Government of India and IUSSTF in growing women entrepreneurs in technology,” said Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, AnitaB.org India.
The WEQ 2017 finale was held on 17th November this year during AnitaB.org’s flagship conference in Bangalore, the Grace Hopper Celebration India 2017 (GHCI 17), one of the largest conferences for women technologists in the country. The Top 10 winners were selected from 257 applications received from across India. The applicants were evaluated on their product and business model.
The Top 10 winners of WEQ 2017 are Bhavjot Kaur, Co-Founder of Clinikk Healthcare (Bangalore); Kausambi Manjita, Co-Founder at Kubric (Bangalore); Madhulika Mukherjee, Co-Founder & CTO at Survaider (Bangalore); Monika Shukla, Co-founder & CEO at LetsEndorse (Bangalore); Meghna Saraogi, Founder & CEO at StyleDotMe (Delhi); Pallavi Bishnoi, Co-Founder & COO at Real-Time Renewables (Lucknow); Radhika Choudary, Co-Founder at Freyr Energy Services (Hyderabad); Sai Gole, Co-Founder & COO at LeanAgri (Pune); Supriya Rathi, Founder & CEO at RoboVR (Mumbai); Vishakha Singh, Co-founder at Vicit Infot Tech (Mumbai).
During the Silicon Valley visit, the WEQ Top 10 winners will get the opportunity to network with key stakeholders in the Silicon Valley ecosystem such as leading technology companies, start-ups, investors, officials, incubators, accelerators, and universities. They will also receive expert guidance on important business functions and aspects that will help them further grow their business. A key focus of the Silicon Valley visit is to provide inspiration to the Top 10 winners by interacting with role models and also giving them a chance to showcase their business.
