FICCI FLO, led by 42nd National President Ms. Poonam Sharma, in collaboration with GeM, organized a webinar session, featuring Shri Sanjiv Singh, Joint Secretary, DPIIT, as the Chief Guest. The session was also joined by Ms. Pooja Garg, National Senior Vice President, and Ms. Sucheta Shah, National Initiative Lead – MSME Assist Cell. Ms. Sucheta Shah delivered the welcome note, which was followed by President Ms. Poonam Sharma’s speech.
The session aimed to equip FLO senior members with the knowledge and tools to guide members and women entrepreneurs in enlisting in the Government’s e-marketplace (GeM). Mr. Anurag Awasthi, Chief Manager at GeM, also joined the session and provided an in-depth walkthrough of the GeM ecosystem and its latest developments. The session focused on integrating support services, including learning management systems, help desks, and vendor assessments, aimed at streamlining seller onboarding and order fulfillment.
Focused interventions were highlighted for onboarding women entrepreneurs, SHGs, artisans, and startups, supporting the 3% procurement target for women-led MSEs under PPP-MSE 2018, thanks to their “Womaniya Program”. Caution money was reduced for Sellers to ₹2,000 (from ₹5,000) for sellers with a turnover of up to ₹1 crore. Vendor assessment fees were significantly cut to ₹3,480 for OEMs and ₹870 for resellers.
GeM SAHAYAK and GeM SAHAY Programs were introduced as support mechanisms in the session. Innovative marketplace tools – EMD through UPI/cards, AI/ML automation of VA/VAE processes, and icons to distinguish women-led product catalogs were also showcased. Ms. Pooja Garg delivered the Vote of Thanks. The online session empowered the members to gain first-hand knowledge and promote the GeM platform among women entrepreneurs, encouraging them to become part of an inclusive and efficient public procurement ecosystem.