Womaniya Initiative: Empowering Women through Public Procurement

In a significant step toward gender equality and inclusive economic development, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the Womaniya Initiative. The move supports Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) on Gender Equality and strengthens women’s participation in public procurement.

What is the Womaniya Initiative?

Launched in 2019, the Womaniya initiative is a flagship programme on the GeM platform aimed at promoting women entrepreneurship. It empowers women-led micro and small enterprises (MSEs), self-help groups (SHGs), artisans, and marginalised women by enabling them to directly sell their goods and services to government buyers.

Key Objectives:

• Access to Markets: Helps women entrepreneurs reach public buyers.
• Access to Finance: Encourages financial inclusion and business support.
• Access to Value Addition: Enhances branding, packaging, and quality for government procurement readiness.

It also supports the government’s policy to reserve 3% of public procurement for women-owned businesses.

Scale and Impact of the Initiative

As per data from the Udyam Registration Portal:

• 20.5% of all MSMEs in India are women-owned.
• These enterprises contribute 18.73% to employment.
• They account for 11.15% of the total MSME investment.

This initiative ensures these women-led entities are no longer excluded from the formal procurement ecosystem and gain national-level exposure.

Role of GeM in Public Procurement

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) was launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce to digitise and streamline government procurement. It provides an online platform for Central and State Ministries, Departments, and PSUs to procure goods and services transparently.

Key Features:

• Operated by a fully government-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
• Adopted across all 36 States and Union Territories
• Uttar Pradesh leads in adoption; 8 states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Assam mandate its use
• Recognised by the World Bank for enabling nearly 10% cost savings in public spending

Inclusive and Tech-Driven Procurement

GeM is increasingly inclusive and digitally driven:

• Onboards over 10 lakh MSEs, 1.84 lakh women entrepreneurs, 1.3 lakh artisans and weavers, and 31,000 startups
• Recently introduced GeMAI, India’s first AI-powered chatbot for public procurement, offering voice and text support in 10 Indian languages

This inclusion aligns with national goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat, making procurement efficient, equitable, and participatory.

Static Prelims Facts

• Launched: 2019
• Platform: Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
• MoU Partners: GeM and UN Women
• Procurement Reservation: 3% for women-led businesses
• Women-Owned MSMEs: 20.5% of total MSMEs
• AI Innovation: GeMAI chatbot in 10 Indian languages
• GeM Launch: 2016 by Ministry of Commerce
• Impact: Nearly 10% cost savings in government procurement (World Bank)