The
Anita Borg Institute (ABI),
a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in
computer science and engineering, is partnering with two Government
bodies, the
National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board
(NSTEDB), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government
of India and the
Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), to
create an entrepreneurial ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in India.
The ecosystem will be established through the Women
Entrepreneurship Quest (WEQ) Program.
This announcement was made during the WEQ 2014 contest finals, part
of the 5th Grace
Hopper India Conference held on Friday, 21 November at the Lalit
Ashok Hotel.
WEQ
is an innovative technology business plan competition designed by the
Anita Borg Institute to promote innovation and ensure support to
aspiring Indian women entrepreneurs. WEQ is held annually during the
Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India (GHCI). The
winner of the contest is awarded Rs
5,00,000 along with a host of other special awards.
As
per this partnership, 6 selected women entrepreneurs from the WEQ
contest will be sent to the United States on a fully paid trip to get
exposed to the entrepreneurial culture in Silicon Valley and will be
provided with extensive mentoring, networking opportunities and access
to capital, which is one of the biggest obstacles to growth for women
entrepreneurs.The
effort is to support networking amongst women entrepreneurs,
including potential entrepreneurs, connect them with government
agencies and other support organizations.
WEQ
2014 Contest
Sreepriya
Koppula, CEO of the Turnaround Systems Pvt Ltd won the WEQ 2014
Contest. She has developed technology
solution Turnaround360 to make the online catalogs 3-dimensional and
interactive. She impressed judges with her straightforward
presentation and her thorough validations of her targeted market. She
bagged cash prize INR 5 Lakhs along with host of other awards.
06
finalist selected from 107 entries received from across
India, gave ten-minute venture pitch presentations to a panel of
judges which included investors, technology experts, entrepreneurs
and mentors.
Broadening
the Base of Women Entrepreneurs
“We
are extremely delighted to have partnered with NSTEDB, DST &
IUSSTF to promote women entrepreneurship. Supporting women
entrepreneurs is a key part of ABI’s mission, and over the years
ABI has developed programs to support entrepreneurship among
women”, said
Geetha Kannan, India Managing Director, Anita Borg
Institute.“Broadening
the base of women
entrepreneurs is extremely critical to India’s energetic economy.
In the last few years, there has been a significant increase in
women-led businesses which is truly encouraging and I am confident
that this partnership will help identify and support women
entrepreneurs to set up innovative companies that can lead to job
creation and business opportunities in local and international
markets.”
“The
Government of India has initiated several measures to promote
entrepreneurship among women as it realizes the critical role of
women in national development. However, the government alone cannot
sustain the movement of empowerment of women. There is need for
organizations such as the Anita Borg Institute to act as catalysts
and based on that belief we have entered into a partnership,” said
Dr. Anita Gupta of the National
Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board,
Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
“While
women are stepping forward and breaking the glass ceiling on their
own, we believe that to accelerate this pace there is tremendous
value in sharing best practices across our nations, there have to be
many more such partnerships to create an ecosystem for women
entrepreneurs which is one part of empowerment of women. This new
initiative will encourage a large number of women entrepreneurs but
also will generate significant employment, the cascading effect of
such movement will only be positive growth of our countries,” said
Dr. Smriti Trikha of the Indo-US
Science and Technology Forum.
“The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum looks at tapping
potential of entrepreneurs, specifically women who are emerging as
leaders, business
owners, employees, and key stakeholders.”
“There
has to be continued and sustained campaign and effort to unshackle
barriers, legal or social, that have impinged on women’s
development.”
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