Womaniya is emerging as a transformative initiative in India’s public procurement ecosystem, enabling women entrepreneurs and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to directly access government markets through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
By offering a dedicated digital interface, Womaniya is strengthening inclusion, improving accessibility, and creating structured opportunities for women-led micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to participate in formal procurement systems.
Public procurement constitutes a significant organised market in India, and with the expansion of digital platforms like GeM, the process has become more transparent, standardised, and accessible.
Introduced in 2019, Womaniya was designed to ensure that women entrepreneurs and SHGs are not left behind in this transition. The initiative simplifies onboarding, enhances visibility, and connects women-led enterprises directly with government buyers across the country.
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Understanding GeM: The Backbone of Womaniya
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM), launched in 2016 under the vision of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance,” is a fully digital, paperless, cashless, and contactless platform. It facilitates end-to-end procurement of goods and services by central and state ministries, departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs), Panchayats, and cooperatives.
Through GeM, sellers from across India can list products and services, while government buyers can seamlessly procure them online. Within this ecosystem, Womaniya acts as a specialised channel that ensures women-led businesses gain equitable access to procurement opportunities.
Womaniya Initiative: Enabling Women Entrepreneurs at Scale
Womaniya, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, provides a focused platform for women entrepreneurs and SHGs to register and showcase their products, including handicrafts, handloom, jute, coir, home décor, and more.
The initiative addresses long-standing barriers such as limited market access, dependence on intermediaries, and lack of visibility.
By enabling direct interaction between buyers and sellers, Womaniya ensures transparency and builds trust within the procurement process.
It also aligns with national priorities of expanding supplier diversity, strengthening women-led entrepreneurship, and integrating under-represented groups into formal economic systems.
SHGs and Women’s Economic Participation
Self-Help Groups (SHGs) play a vital role in grassroots empowerment. Typically consisting of 10 to 20 women, SHGs pool resources, promote savings, and engage in income-generating activities.
As of February 2026, over 10.05 crore women have been mobilised into 90.09 lakh SHGs, significantly enhancing financial inclusion and collective economic action. Womaniya leverages this vast network to bring grassroots producers into organised procurement channels.
SWAYATT and Womaniya: Advancing Inclusive Procurement
The SWAYATT (Startups, Women & Youth Advantage Through e-Transactions) initiative, launched in February 2019, aims to promote inclusive participation in public procurement. It focuses on startups, women entrepreneurs, youth, MSEs, SHGs, and marginalised communities.
Womaniya complements SWAYATT by specifically focusing on women-led enterprises, helping them overcome entry barriers and improve ease of doing business on GeM.
Product Categories Under Womaniya
To enhance discoverability and streamline procurement, Womaniya categorises products into segments where women-led enterprises already demonstrate strong capabilities:
- Handicrafts
- Grocery and Pantry
- Office Accessories
- Handloom Textiles
- Personal Hygiene and Care
This structured categorisation allows government buyers to easily identify and procure products from women entrepreneurs at scale.
Key Features of the Womaniya Initiative
- Digital Onboarding
Women-led MSEs and SHGs are onboarded through a simplified digital process using Udyam verification and essential documentation. Training sessions and workshops further support onboarding.
- Standardised Catalogue Listing
Products are listed using uniform templates with defined specifications, ensuring easy comparison and evaluation by buyers.
- Transparent Digital Procurement
All procurement processes—from bidding and order placement to invoicing and payments—are conducted digitally, ensuring efficiency and transparency.
- Time-Bound Payments
Digitised workflows help ensure timely payments, which is crucial for micro and small enterprises with limited working capital.
- Capacity Building and Outreach
Through SWAYATT and Womaniya, GeM conducts training workshops, onboarding drives, and buyer-seller meets across states to strengthen participation.
Growing Impact
The impact of Womaniya has expanded significantly, transforming it into a major channel for women-led enterprises in public procurement.
In FY 2025-26:
- Over 2.1 lakh women MSEs registered on GeM
- Total order volume reached 13.7 lakh
- Contracts worth over ₹28,000 crore were awarded to women MSEs
- Achieved 27.60% growth over the previous year
- Women-led enterprises accounted for 5.6% of total GeM orders, surpassing the mandated 3% target
These figures highlight how Womaniya is not only enabling participation but also driving measurable economic outcomes.
From Inclusion to Economic Empowerment
The success of Womaniya lies in its integrated approach—combining digital infrastructure, grassroots mobilisation, capacity building, and institutional demand. Government buyers create consistent demand, while field-level initiatives ensure women entrepreneurs are prepared to meet it.
This synergy is enabling women-led enterprises to scale sustainably, transition into formal markets, and reduce dependency on informal channels.
Conclusion: Womaniya and the Future of Inclusive Markets
By providing women entrepreneurs and SHGs with direct access to one of India’s largest procurement ecosystems, Womaniya is redefining inclusion in public markets. It transforms existing production capabilities into sustainable business opportunities while promoting transparency and efficiency.
As more women gain visibility, build capacity, and engage with government buyers, Womaniya is evolving beyond a procurement initiative into a pathway for economic independence and equitable growth—ensuring that public procurement reflects the aspirations and capabilities of the better half of society.
