Anita Borg Institute Announces the Women Entrepreneur Contest at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 25, 2011) - The 2011 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India, December 14-16, 2011, will present the first Women Entrepreneur Quest. The contest is designed to promote and showcase early-stage technology ventures founded or led by women entrepreneurs in all technologies and have applied technology in innovative ways to solve meaningful business problems. Applications are being accepted through October 31, 2011.

The selection committee will filter the top eight startups from all the business plans submitted. The eight finalists will be mentored closely by Saarthi, a management consultancy who works with entrepreneurs and start-ups on their plans via mentoring, advising and consulting to shape their pitches for the final Showcase event. The final pitches will be made personally at the Grace Hopper Celebration in India, December 16, 2011 in Bangalore in front of a distinguished panel of judges. The panel will be comprised of a mix of angel investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and mentors. The Showcase and Award Presentation will be held on Dec 16, 2011. Prizes include a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs to the winner; the eight finalists will receive three months of complimentary mentoring by Saarthi and 5 hours of legal consulting time from Novojuris. For more information, eligibility criteria and rules please go to our website, http://gracehopper.org.in/2011/participate/woman-entrepreneur-quest/.

About the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing India is a program of the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology to increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of Indian technical women. Modeled after the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in the United States and tailored by Indian technical women for the Indian technology culture, the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women and Computing India brings the research and career interests of women in computing in India to the forefront. Our 2010 pilot program drew over 600 attendees from 79 organizations for two days of learning, networking, and inspiration. For more information go to www.gracehopper.in

About the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI)

The Anita Borg Institute provides resources and programs to help industry, academia, and government recruit, retain, and develop women leaders in high-tech fields, resulting in higher levels of technological innovation. Our programs serve high-tech women by creating a community and providing tools to help them develop their careers. ABI is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. ABI Partners include: Google, HP, Microsoft, CA Technologies, Cisco, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lockheed Martin, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Thomson Reuters, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amazon, Broadcom, Motorola Foundation, Raytheon, Salesforce, and Yahoo! For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org.