SWAYATT at Six: GeM’s Initiative Boosting Women and Startup Participation in Public Procurement

What is SWAYATT and Why It Matters

SWAYATT at Six: GeM’s Initiative Boosting Women and Startup Participation in Public Procurement: Launched in 2019, the SWAYATT initiative (Startups, Women, and Youth Advantage Through eTransactions) by the Government e Marketplace (GeM) aims to promote social inclusion in public procurement. It focuses on increasing the participation of women-led businesses, youth-led startups, and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in government purchases. The goal is to remove entry barriers and offer direct market access to traditionally underrepresented groups in public procurement.

Partnerships and Recent Milestone

As SWAYATT completed six years in 2025, GeM signed an important MoU with FICCI-FLO (Ladies Organisation of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry). This partnership is designed to create direct procurement linkages between women entrepreneurs and government buyers, removing intermediaries and ensuring fair pricing. The initiative strengthens institutional support for inclusive economic engagement.

Growth and Impact So Far

The platform has seen a significant rise in participation since 2019. From just 6,300 women-led enterprises and 3,400 startups, the number of onboarded businesses has soared. As of 2025, over 1,77,786 Udyam-verified women MSEs are active on GeM, fulfilling government orders worth ₹46,615 Crore. This highlights the initiative’s real economic impact in enabling small businesses to tap into India’s vast public procurement market.

Capacity Building and Storefront Visibility

A major component of SWAYATT is training and onboarding support. GeM conducts regular workshops to empower last-mile sellers and ensure they understand how to navigate the platform. GeM has also launched dedicated storefronts like Womaniya for women entrepreneurs and Startup Runway for new businesses. These storefronts improve visibility and discoverability, ensuring that smaller enterprises are not lost in a sea of large vendors.

Future Goals and Economic Inclusion

Looking ahead, GeM aims to onboard 1 lakh startups and double the share of women entrepreneurs from the current 8% of total sellers. SWAYATT envisions an inclusive procurement ecosystem that promotes job creation, gender equality, and youth-led innovation. By linking government demand with entrepreneurial supply, the initiative fosters economic empowerment at the grassroots level.

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