Winner of the 2013 Women Entrepreneur Quest Announced

Anita Borg Institute announced the winner of the 2013 Women Entrepreneur Quest, part of the 4th Annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India Conference. Women Entrepreneur Quest is designed to promote and showcase early-stage technology ventures with a technology component, founded or led by women entrepreneurs in all technologies.

06 finalist selected from 98 entries received from across India, gave ten-minute venture pitch presentations to a panel of judges which included investors, technology experts, entrepreneurs and mentors.

When all the votes were tallied, Mausmi Ambastha, Founder Intellocut walked away with the INR 5 Lakhs grand prize. She has developed technology to help the industries optimise their wastage in cutting material and fabrics. She impressed judges with her straightforward presentation and her thorough validations of her targeted market.

While congratulating the six finalists, Telle Whitney, President & CEO of the Anita Borg Institute said, "We are extremely thrilled to see their innovative spirit and their power to lead by example. The quality of their business idea is an inspiration to many women in technology and is a clear testimony of the vast amount of opportunities that the IT industry offers to women from India and beyond."

"This year's Women Entrepreneur Quest participants were truly outstanding. Each year the competition draws an even better group of women entrepreneurs with innovative technologies," said Telle. "Choosing the winners was incredibly difficult, but we managed to pick the top candidate based on the quality of her presentation, the potential market-demand for her technology and her overall business plan."

"Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in technology is an area of great interest to the Anita Borg Institute and we're happy to see young people come up with great ideas and turn them into viable business ventures. Indian women have the potential to change course, take risks and achieve greater heights. We strongly believe in them and would like to contribute to their growth path in whatever possible way", said Geetha Kannan, India Head of the Anita Borg Institute.
"I am extremely delighted & its quite unbelievable. Every little penny counts for a start-up. Winning the WEQ competition puts us on a global map which will help us in acquiring new customers and potential investors", said Mausmi Ambastha, Founder Intellocut.

"Mentoring these Six Finalists and having the chance to see the potential in each entrepreneur's emerging business was truly inspiring," said Manish Singhal, Chair WEQ. "We will continue to support women entrepreneurs who are passionate about building businesses of excellence as we have realised that the India growth story is linked to more women taking entrepreneurship."

In Pic: Mausmi Ambastha, Founder, Intellocut receiving the 5 lakhs cheque from Telle Whitney, President & CEO, The Anita Borg Institute & Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, India, The Anita Borg Institute.

In additional to the Grand Prize of 5 Lakhs, the winner also receives:

• Push the Boundary Mentoring Award by Seedfund - Six month mentoring from Seed-fund for the start-up defining or creating a sector

• Novojuris Legal Consulting Award - Five complimentary hours of legal consulting time for all finalists from Novojuris

• The IIM-B Experience Award - Six months hands-on mentoring to a deserving start-up to shape their business with appropriate market connects and preparing them for possible incubation at NSRCEL.

• Microsoft Ventures Most Promising Team Award - Four months mentoring & investor access - Once a week meeting/call with CIR- Ravi Narayan and connect with investors as appropriate.

• Get Real. Fundable. Fast by Kyron Accelerator. The award will include a wild card entry to the 4 month Kyron Global Accelerator Program and will include $10,000 in funding

About the Anita Borg Institute (ABI)

The Anita Borg Institute connects, inspires, and guides women in computing and organisations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, our reach extends to more than 42 countries. We believe technology innovation powers the global economy, and that women are crucial to building technology the world needs. As a social enterprise, we recognise women making positive contributions, and advise organisations on how to improve performance by building more inclusive teams.

ABI partners include: Google, HP, Microsoft, Cisco, Thomson Reuters, Amazon, CA Technologies, Dell, eBay, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, Marvell, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Broadcom, EMC, Neustar, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, VentureLoop, Xerox and Yahoo! The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organisation. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.

Source: Equator Communications