GeM Initiative Womaniya Drives Women's Role in Procurement

By: WE Staff | Friday, 16 January 2026

• GeM’s Womaniya initiative completes seven years in January 2026
• Over 2 lakh women-led MSEs onboarded on the GeM platform
• Women entrepreneurs secured public orders worth ₹80,000 crore

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has marked seven years of its flagship Womaniya initiative, underscoring its growing role in expanding women’s participation in India’s public procurement ecosystem. Since its launch in January 2019, the programme has enabled more than two lakh women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) to access government markets, collectively securing procurement orders worth over Rs 80,000 crore as of January 2026.

Designed to address long-standing barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, such as limited market access, low visibility, and valuation challenges, Womaniya offers a transparent, fully digital procurement platform that connects women-led enterprises directly with government buyers. By removing intermediaries and simplifying processes, the initiative has helped women entrepreneurs, including first-time and grassroots participants, build credibility and scale their businesses. Notably, women-led enterprises now account for about 4.7 per cent of GeM’s total order value, well above the mandated three per cent procurement target.

The anniversary event, held in New Delhi, brought together senior government officials, multilateral institutions, and ecosystem partners, who highlighted the importance of institutional access, capacity building, and sustained policy support for advancing gender-responsive procurement. Speakers emphasised that initiatives like Womaniya are critical to embedding gender equity within economic systems rather than treating it as a standalone effort.

A Memorandum of Understanding was notably signed between GeM and the Women’s Collective Forum, aimed at strengthening institutional support for women entrepreneurs through training, onboarding assistance, compliance support, and enhanced visibility on the platform.