New Delhi: Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and UN Women have entered into a partnership aimed at increasing the participation of women entrepreneurs, particularly those from the informal sector, in India’s public procurement system. The Memorandum of Understanding focuses on advancing gender-responsive procurement and widening market access for women-led enterprises through GeM’s Womaniya initiative.
The agreement was signed by Kanta Singh, Country Representative of UN Women India, and Ajit B. Chavan, Additional CEO of GeM. GeM CEO Mihir Kumar, who presided over the ceremony, said the partnership strengthens GeM’s efforts to support women entrepreneurs by improving their access to public procurement and building forward market linkages through the platform.
GeM serves as the national public procurement portal for Central and State Ministries, Departments, PSUs and autonomous bodies. The platform enables women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Groups to supply their products directly to government buyers. To facilitate participation, GeM has created broad product categories that include handicrafts, handloom items, jute and coir goods, bamboo products, organic foods, spices, accessories, home décor and office furnishings.
Under the MoU, UN Women will prepare training material, identify international best practices, share success stories and help develop criteria for validating women-led businesses. It will also promote the Womaniya – #VocalForLocal Outlet Store, support onboarding of participants from UN programmes, encourage MSME Udyam Registration, mobilise women trainers and connect women entrepreneurs with relevant advisers and institutions.
GeM will conduct training programmes for sellers, sensitise government buyers to gender-responsive procurement, and highlight success stories of women entrepreneurs. The platform will also hold onboarding workshops, develop training content in multiple Indian languages and create partnerships that promote entrepreneurship and decent work opportunities. In addition, GeM will engage women trainers and link women-led enterprises with Government Labs and R&D institutions to support product development and market readiness.
Both organisations will work together to advance gender-responsive procurement, strengthen hyper-local market linkages and contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 5, which focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
The signing ceremony, held at the GeM office in New Delhi, was attended by officials from the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, senior representatives of GeM and UN Women, and members of industry bodies including Laghu Udyog Bharti, PHDCCI and SEWA Bharat.
BI Bureau
