The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) recently celebrated the seven-year journey of its flagship initiative SWAYATT (Startups, Women and Youth Advantage through e-Transactions), highlighting its role in making public procurement more inclusive for emerging entrepreneurs across India.
Launched on February 19, 2019, the SWAYATT initiative was designed to open up government procurement opportunities to startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), and small sellers. The initiative enables these groups to directly participate in the government purchasing ecosystem through the digital GeM platform.
Objective of SWAYATT
The initiative is based on GeM’s commitment to social inclusion in public procurement. SWAYATT focuses on addressing three major challenges faced by emerging businesses:
- Limited access to markets
- Difficulty in accessing finance
- Lack of opportunities for value addition
By leveraging GeM’s digital procurement system, businesses from across the country can connect directly with government buyers. This reduces traditional barriers to entry and creates new opportunities for smaller enterprises to grow.
Event to Mark the Seven-Year Journey
To commemorate the milestone, a special programme was organised at the GeM office, bringing together policymakers, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem partners to discuss the impact of the initiative and its future direction.
The event began with remarks from Additional CEO of GeM, Ajit B. Chavan, who shared insights into the vision and progress of the SWAYATT programme.
GeM’s Vision for Inclusive Procurement
The SWAYATT reflects GeM’s vision of making public procurement more accessible and inclusive.
The digital technology and partnerships across the ecosystem are helping emerging enterprises participate actively in the country’s economic growth.
Over the years, SWAYATT has become an important part of GeM’s procurement ecosystem. Special digital storefronts such as Startup Runway and Womaniya have been created to improve visibility of startups and women-led enterprises for government buyers across the country.
Significant Growth in Participation
The impact of SWAYATT is clearly visible in the increasing participation of women entrepreneurs and startups on the GeM platform.
Women Entrepreneurs
Women-led businesses have witnessed significant growth. The cumulative order value from women entrepreneurs increased from ₹1,265.62 crore in FY 2018–19 to ₹83,323 crore by FY 2025–26.
Similarly, the number of orders placed with women-led enterprises rose from 1,01,530 orders to 44,48,894 orders during the same period.
Startups
Startups have also shown strong growth on the GeM platform. Their cumulative order value increased from ₹497.24 crore in FY 2018–19 to ₹54,005.8 crore by FY 2025–26.
The total number of orders placed with startups expanded from 17,434 to 5,30,578, reflecting the growing role of startups in government procurement.
Strengthening Opportunities Through Technology
The progress of SWAYATT demonstrates how digital procurement platforms can expand opportunities for emerging businesses. Through transparent processes, direct access to government buyers and continuous outreach, GeM is helping small enterprises scale their participation in public procurement.
Over the past seven years, the initiative has played a key role in strengthening inclusive economic growth and empowering startups, women entrepreneurs and youth across the country.
The success of SWAYATT highlights how technology-driven governance can create a more equitable and accessible public procurement system for all.