08/05/2026
Empowering women entrepreneurs through digitally enabled public procurement remains a shared priority for Government e Marketplace (GeM) and World Bank.
Building further on this objective, GeM leadership engaged with the World Bank’s Global Gender Group to examine strategic collaboration opportunities focused on digital outreach, seller enablement, and scalable capacity building interventions for women led enterprises.
Shri Mihir Kumar, CEO of GeM, emphasized the systemic capability enhancement during the meeting, highlighting the critical importance of digital literacy in enabling women entrepreneurs to effectively access and participate in public procurement markets. He reaffirmed GeM’s commitment to advancing efficiency, transparency, and inclusive growth.
The dialogue was led by senior officers from GeM - Addl. CEO's Shri Ajit B. Chavan and Shri Satya Narayan Meena and senior delegates from World Bank - Dr. Robin Mearns, (Group Director - Gender Equality), Mr. Diego Ubfal, Senior Economist (Global Gender Group), Mr Shanker Lal (Lead Procurement Specialist), Ms. Sofia Amaral (Economist, Social Sustainability & Inclusion), along with other delegates.
The discussion focused on strengthening institutional pathways for digital inclusion, reducing participation barriers, and leveraging platform based governance to enhance women’s access to government procurement opportunities.
The engagement reflects a strategic move from shared intent to coordinated action, leveraging digital public infrastructure, policy alignment, and institutional partnerships to scale women’s economic participation in Public Procurement.
World Bank Group