GeM Marks Seven Years of SWAYATT Boosting Inclusive Procurement

13 Mar 2026 CW Team

SWAYATT concentrates on access to markets, access to finance and access to value addition, tackling challenges faced by emerging enterprises. The programme supports capacity building, outreach and dedicated storefronts such as Startup Runway and Womaniya to improve discoverability among buyers. A commemorative programme at the GeM office brought together policymakers, founders and ecosystem partners to reflect on impact and roadmap.

Senior officials including the Additional Chief Executive Officer, Ajit B. Chavan, presented perspectives on SWAYATT and representatives from NEDAR Foundation, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade also addressed the event. Entrepreneurs recounted participation experiences on GeM, with founders from Club First Robotics and Surprise Someone describing how the platform enabled access to government markets and business scaling. The Chief Executive Officer of GeM, Mihir Kumar, said SWAYATT embodies GeM's vision of inclusive procurement through technology and partnerships.

The initiative's impact is reflected in transaction values and volumes. Women entrepreneurs saw cumulative order values rise from Rs12,656.2 mn in FY 2018–19 to Rs833,230 mn by FY 2025–26, while order volumes increased from 101,530 to 4,448,894. Startups recorded growth from Rs4,972.4 mn in FY 2018–19 to Rs540,058 mn by FY 2025–26, with volumes expanding from 17,434 to 530,578. These outcomes indicate that SWAYATT has helped convert digital access into market participation.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) marked the seven-year journey of the SWAYATT initiative, stressing efforts to make public procurement more inclusive for startups, women entrepreneurs and youth. Launched on 19 February 2019, SWAYATT was designed to democratise government procurement by enabling startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, micro and small enterprises, self help groups and last-mile sellers to participate directly through GeM. The initiative seeks to reduce entry barriers for emerging enterprises by widening access to government markets through digital procurement infrastructure. SWAYATT concentrates on access to markets, access to finance and access to value addition, tackling challenges faced by emerging enterprises. The programme supports capacity building, outreach and dedicated storefronts such as Startup Runway and Womaniya to improve discoverability among buyers. A commemorative programme at the GeM office brought together policymakers, founders and ecosystem partners to reflect on impact and roadmap. Senior officials including the Additional Chief Executive Officer, Ajit B. Chavan, presented perspectives on SWAYATT and representatives from NEDAR Foundation, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade also addressed the event. Entrepreneurs recounted participation experiences on GeM, with founders from Club First Robotics and Surprise Someone describing how the platform enabled access to government markets and business scaling. The Chief Executive Officer of GeM, Mihir Kumar, said SWAYATT embodies GeM's vision of inclusive procurement through technology and partnerships. The initiative's impact is reflected in transaction values and volumes. Women entrepreneurs saw cumulative order values rise from Rs12,656.2 mn in FY 2018–19 to Rs833,230 mn by FY 2025–26, while order volumes increased from 101,530 to 4,448,894. Startups recorded growth from Rs4,972.4 mn in FY 2018–19 to Rs540,058 mn by FY 2025–26, with volumes expanding from 17,434 to 530,578. These outcomes indicate that SWAYATT has helped convert digital access into market participation.

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