Women Entrepreneurs are steadily claiming a larger place in India’s public procurement system.
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has reported a sharp rise in the value of orders secured by women entrepreneurs, with cumulative order value climbing from Rs 1,265.62 crore in FY2018-19 to Rs 83,323 crore by FY2025-26. Over the same period, order volumes rose from 1,01,530 to 44,48,894, pointing to a significant expansion in participation by women-led enterprises on the platform.
The numbers were shared as GeM marked seven years of SWAYATT, short for Startups, Women and Youth Advantage through e-Transactions, its flagship initiative aimed at making public procurement more inclusive. The programme has been positioned as a bridge for groups that have historically found it harder to enter formal government supply channels
The growth story is not limited to women entrepreneurs alone. Startups, too, have recorded strong gains on the platform. According to the official data, cumulative order value for startups increased from Rs 497.24 crore in FY2018-19 to Rs 54,005.8 crore by FY2025-26, while order volumes moved up from 17,434 to 5,30,578 during the same period.
GeM CEO Mihir Kumar said SWAYATT reflects the platform’s effort to make government procurement more inclusive by enabling startups, women entrepreneurs and youth to access government markets directly. He added that digital technology and ecosystem partnerships are helping transform emerging enterprises into active participants in India’s economic growth.
At its core, SWAYATT was designed to democratise procurement by bringing startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), and last-mile sellers into the government purchasing network through GeM The initiative, according to the official statement, focuses on three recurring barriers faced by such enterprises: access to markets, access to finance, and access to value addition.
That focus matters because public procurement is not just about sales; it is also about credibility, scale and visibility. For smaller enterprises, especially women-led businesses, government orders can become an entry point into more stable and formalised growth. The GeM model attempts to reduce entry barriers by using digital procurement infrastructure to directly connect enterprises with government buyers across the country.
The seven-year commemorative event was held at the GeM office and brought together policymakers, startup founders, women entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners to review the initiative’s impact and discuss its future direction.
What stands out in the latest figures is the scale of the jump. The rise from a little over Rs 1,265 crore to more than Rs 83,000 crore in women entrepreneurs’ cumulative order value signals that inclusion in public procurement is no longer just a policy slogan. It is beginning to show up in transaction data.
For policymakers, that makes SWAYATT more than a symbolic initiative. For women entrepreneurs, it signals a widening route into one of the country’s largest institutional markets.
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