As many as 10 techies, three from Delhi, emerged as the winners of the Women Entrepreneur Quest (WEQ) 2018 organised in Bangalore by AnitaB.org India, a nonprofit organisation focused on the advancement of women. All the top 10 winners received an all-expenses-paid experiential learning visit to the Silicon Valley, US. WEQ is a contest for technology startups founded by women. The WEQ 2018 finale was held during AnitaB.org’s flagship conference in Bangalore, the Grace Hopper Celebration India 2018 (GHCI 18), the largest conference for women technologists in Asia. More than 5000 women from across the world attended the conference. The Top 10 winners were selected from 266 applications received from across India. The applicants were evaluated on their product/solutions and business model, stated the organisers. The Top 10 winners of WEQ 2018 are: 1. Anushka Shetty, Founder of Plop chat, Bangalore 2. Kalyani Khona, Founder & CEO of Inclov, Delhi 3. Neha Satak, Founder & CEO of Astrome, Bangalore 4. Pallavi Gupta, Founder of Espresso Labs, Delhi 5. Radhika Patil, Founder & CEO of Cradlewise, Bangalore 6. Shampa Choudhury, Founder & CEO of Citility, Bangalore 7. Shruthi Reddy, Founder & CEO of Anthyesti, Kolkata 8. Surabhi Das, Founder & Chief Legal Officer of Ziroh Labs, Bangalore 9. Suruchi Rao, Founder of Ossus Biorenewables, Bangalore 10. Tarusha Mittal, Founder & COO of Ethx.co, Delhi “WEQ has always had the ambitious objective to identify and reward strong women founders with technology startups. Over the years we have seen tremendous growth in the quality and number of women entrepreneurs, with the potential to build successful businesses. Among the past WEQ winners, 75% of the startups have witnessed significant growth in their operations and customer base. Each WEQ 2018 winner is highly talented and we are sure the experience and exposure in Silicon Valley will significantly add to the growth of their startup,” said Geetha Kannan, Managing Director, AnitaB.org India. Dr Anita Gupta, Scientist G/Adviser and Associate Head-Innovation and Entrepreneurship, DST, Government of India said, “The Government of India has instituted policy measures to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, especially among women. The government aims to bring women to the forefront of India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing access to finance, networks, markets and learning..”

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