1.77 lakh Indian Women-Owned Businesses Benefit From GeM Platform For Entrepreneurship

By: WE staff | Wednesday, 26 February 2025

• Women entrepreneurs make up 8 percent of the total seller base on the Government e-marketplace (GeM).
• A total of 1, 77,786 Udyam-verified women-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are registered on the platform.
• These women-led businesses have collectively fulfilled orders worth Rs 46,615 crore.

On February 26 in New Delhi, an announcement was made that women entrepreneurs make up eight percent of the total seller base on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), with 1,77,786 Udyam-verified women-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs) registered on the platform. These businesses have collectively fulfilled orders worth Rs 46,615 crore, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

GeM has completed six years of its SWAYATT initiative (Startups, Women and Youth Advantage through eTransactions). It was launched in February 2019; SWAYATT mainly aims to boost participation of women-led enterprises and youth in public procurement.

On the occasion of six years anniversary of SWAYATT initiative L. Satya Srivinas, CEO of GeM, remarked that, "When SWAYATT was launched; only around 6,300 women-led enterprises and nearly 3,400 startups were on boarded onto GeM. Since then, the platform has experienced remarkable growth." He further emphasized, "By addressing challenges such as ‘access to market,’ ‘access to finance,’ and ‘access to value addition’ through efficient e-market linkages in public procurement, GeM has enabled startups to fulfill orders worth Rs 35,950 crore."

SWAYATT is rooted in GeM’s core pillar of social inclusion. The initiative focuses on improving the ease of doing business and creating direct market linkages. It supports startups, women entrepreneurs, MSEs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), and youth, especially those from marginalized sections of society it also focuses on training and onboarding last-mile sellers, promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and encouraging small-scale businesses in government procurement.

GeM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organization (FICCI-FLO), representing over 9,500 women entrepreneurs. The partnership aims to provide women entrepreneur’s direct access to government buyers, eliminating intermediaries. This collaboration aims to ensure better product prices, drive hyper-local job creation, and foster inclusive growth.

This initiative includes ‘Startup Runway’ and ‘Womaniya’ storefronts, providing dedicated listings for startups, women entrepreneurs, and youth to increase their visibility among government buyers across India.

GeM has empowered over 29,000 startups with business opportunities on the platform by eliminating entry barriers. It aims to onboard 1 lakh startups registered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) onto the portal, creating a vibrant startup ecosystem in public procurement.