GeM–UN Women Partnership to Strengthen Women-Led Public Procurement

Why in the News?

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and UN Women have signed an MoU under the Womaniya initiative to enhance the participation of women entrepreneurs in public procurement and accelerate progress toward SDG 5 – Gender Equality.

About the Womaniya Initiative

Overview

• Launched in 2019, Womaniya is a GeM initiative aimed at strengthening women-led entrepreneurship.
• It enables women-led MSEs, SHGs, artisans, weavers, and marginalised women to directly sell products and services to government buyers.

Objectives

• Addresses the “triple challenge” faced by women entrepreneurs:
  • Limited market access
  • Restricted finance access
  • Lack of value-addition opportunities
• Supports the national goal of earmarking 3% of government procurement for women-owned businesses.

Scale & Impact

• As per the Udyam Registration Portal:
  • Women-owned MSMEs constitute 20.5% of all MSMEs.
  • They contribute 18.73% to total employment.
  • They account for 11.15% of total MSME investment.

About the Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

Overview

• Launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce, GeM is a digital procurement platform used by:
  • Central & State Ministries
  • Departments
  • PSUs
  • Autonomous bodies
• Managed by the GeM SPV, a fully government-owned, not-for-profit entity.

Nationwide Adoption

• GeM has been implemented across all 36 States and UTs.
• Uttar Pradesh leads in adoption.
• Eight states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam, have made GeM procurement mandatory.

Objectives

• Promote transparency, efficiency, and fairness in public procurement.
• Reduce delays and curb corruption.
• Independent assessments (like the World Bank) show nearly 10% cost savings through GeM.

Inclusivity & Digital Empowerment

• GeM empowers:
  • 10 lakh+ MSEs
  • 1.3 lakh artisans and weavers
  • 1.84 lakh women entrepreneurs
  • 31,000 startups
• Recently, GeM launched GeMAI, India’s first generative AI-powered public sector chatbot, offering voice and text support across 10 Indian languages.

Significance of the MoU

Boost to Women’s Economic Participation

• Strengthens opportunities for women-led enterprises in the public procurement ecosystem.

Advancing SDG 5

• Enhances gender-responsive procurement and supports global gender equality commitments.

Improved Access to Markets & Finance

• Helps women entrepreneurs overcome structural barriers through digital support and capacity-building.

Strengthening the Digital Ecosystem

• Integration with tools like GeMAI and simplified onboarding accelerates women’s participation in digital commerce.

Challenges

• Limited digital literacy among rural women entrepreneurs
• Difficulty navigating procurement compliance norms
• Inadequate access to credit and formal banking
• Market competition with larger, established vendors

Way Forward

• Strengthen capacity-building and digital literacy workshops for women entrepreneurs
• Simplify procurement processes for small women-led enterprises
• Boost access to credit via targeted financial schemes
• Promote awareness campaigns on GeM onboarding
• Enhance monitoring to ensure the 3% women procurement target