Government e Marketplace showcases initiatives at Startup Mahakumbh, aims to further capacity-building of startups and MSMEs

New Delhi, 14 March 2024: Government e Marketplace (GeM), India's leading public procurement platform and a key sponsor at Startup Mahakumbh event, is all set to showcase its capabilities and initiatives to further the growth of MSME sector and startup ecosystem in India. India’s largest startup event, Startup Mahakumbh which is scheduled for March 18-20, 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, will serve as a vital platform to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration within India's vibrant startup ecosystem.

Government e Marketplace’s active role in organising and supporting the entire event underscores the company’s commitment in propelling the growth of startups and MSMEs by providing them new opportunities in the public procurement domain. Today, GeM provides direct online access to more than 1.4 Lakh+ Government Buyers and is a dedicated marketplace for startups to list their product and services. The platform provides new opportunities to scale up businesses with central & state governments, with a seller-friendly dashboard for monitoring orders and payments. These features, coupled with capabilities to sell products up to INR 25,000 directly to government buyers, has huge potential to help onboarded MSMEs with better market linkages and business expansion.

Its Startup Runway outlet store launched (https://gem.gov.in/Startup_Runway) in November 2019 with an objective to align startups with government buyers offering Brand and IPR protection and facilitating them to exclusively list their innovative products with minimal technical specifications under the 14 globally recognized Startup subsectors, namely; Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, AgTech and New Foods, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data & Analytics, Augmented/ Virtual Reality, Blockchain, Cleantech/ Renewables, Consumer/ Home Electronics (+Wearables, Smart Devices), Cybersecurity, Education Tech (Edtech), Health and Life Sciences, Water Tech, Assistive Tech, Legal Tech and MedTech.

Furthermore, Government e Marketplace (GeM) has launched “Womaniya on GeM”, an initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups to sell handicrafts and handloom, accessories, jute and coir products, home décor and office furnishings, directly to various government buyers, sans intermediaries. The womaniya homepage (https://gem.gov.in/womaniya) under the #Vocalforlocal GeM Outlet Stores informs procurement officers in various government ministries, departments and CPSEs about the drive to promote procurement of common use goods and services from women entrepreneurs.

Ahead of the action packed three-day event, Mr. Prashant Kumar Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Government e Marketplace (GeM), Government of India, said, “Startup Mahakumbh will be a historic event because nothing of this scale has been organised ever. Particularly in this event, we want to engage very actively. It is only when people come together, interact and see each other, is when fire of ideas is ignited. That is exactly the idea to be at Startup Mahakumbh. We will also be there. We are also a Startup and we will also be learning. Our attempt will be to onboard each of these Startups on our portal so that we can do possible hand holding and act as a minor catalyst in this Startup Ecosystem”

During the event, Government e Marketplace will showcase its comprehensive registration and onboarding process to the participating startups & women-led MSMEs, its Interactive Multilingual Learning Management - an innovative solution to help sellers navigate the platform effortlessly. It will also provide a chance to MSMEs to connect with GeM representatives on queries and additional clarifications.Shri Singh, CEO - GeM, will also address the participants in a panel discussion on “Role of startups in realizing the vision of Viksit Bharat”. Various other GeM officials will also be holding masterclasses over the course of the event to indulge participating startups in meaningful discourse.

Government e Marketplace is providing a tech-enabled environment to Startups to conduct business, maximising advocacy, outreach and awareness of public procurement among Startups. It is further increasing engagement of Government buyers with latest innovation and technologies by Startups.

About Startup Mahakumbh

Startup Mahakumbh is a first-of-its-kind event bringing together the entire startup ecosystem of India including startups, investors, incubators and accelerators, and industry leaders from several sectors. Spearheaded by the collaborative efforts of ASSOCHAM, nasscom, Bootstrap Incubation & Advisory Foundation, TkiE, and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), the event will have sector-focused pavilions, which will showcase India's most innovative startups. With the central theme ‘Bharat Innovates’, the event will also feature mentorship clinics, pitch competitions, and a multi-track conference featuring leadership talks, panel discussions, workshops, and a host of exciting activities for startups as well as future entrepreneurs. The event will also host a Future Entrepreneurs Day on March 20, with a focus on cultivating the entrepreneurial spirit among students. The Future Entrepreneurs Day is expected to gather close to 3,000 individuals handpicked by colleges and incubators nationwide for their inclination towards entrepreneurship. With the purpose of enabling handshakes and connecting startups with a spectrum of inventors such as VCs, angel investors, family offices, and HNIs- as well as potential corporate partners, the event is expected to host 2,000+ startups, 100+ unicorns, 10+ thematic pavilions, 1,000+ investors, 300+ incubators & accelerators, 3,000+ conference delegates, 10+ country delegations, and 50,000+ business visitors over the span of three days.