The Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2017 is a flagship contest of Anita Borg Institute (ABI) India for women entrepreneurs, who are founders of startups in the technology sector. WEQ is a comprehensive platform that provides networking, mentoring and learning opportunities to grow one’s business.

Top 10 winners of WEQ 2017 will receive an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to Silicon Valley, US. The visit is for five working days and will take place in 2018 (dates to be announced). During the trip the WEQ 2017 Top 10 will get access to:

• Quality Networks: Visits and meetings with key stakeholders in the Silicon Valley ecosystem such as leading technology companies, startups, investors, officials, incubators, accelerators, universities and so on.
• Expert Guidance: Sessions and workshops on important business functions and aspects from industry veterans, mentors, entrepreneurs and experienced professionals.
• Great Inspiration: Close interactions and networking with role models in Silicon Valley. This is also a great opportunity for the WEQ 2017 Top 10 to showcase their dynamic startups in Silicon Valley.

– The 25 finalists of WEQ 2017 will receive a free day-pass for attending the Grace Hopper Celebration India (GHCI) 2017 conference on 17 November, 2017 in Bangalore. GHCI is the largest technical conference for women in India and is a great opportunity to learn and network with some of the best minds in the industry.

• The applicant must be a woman
• The applicant must be a founder/co-founder of an early stage technology startup
• The startup must be an Indian operating and registered entity and should be under 7 years of operation as on 31^st July 2017
• The startup needs to be primarily driven by technology and can cover any sector of technology such as the Internet, Mobile, Clean Tech, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Web-based applications, Cloud, IT Enabled Services, Agriculture, Energy, Education, Financial Inclusion, Healthcare Applications, Social Media and any impact making social sector.
• Winners of past WEQ contests are not eligible to appl

The applications for Stage 1 of WEQ 2017 will close on September 3, 2017.

The applications for Stage 2 of WEQ 2017 will open on September 6, 2017. Applicants will receive an email by September 6, 2017 on the status of their application in Stage 1

For more details on steps for WEQ 2017 selection process, click here