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 the 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.

GeM’s active role in organising and supporting the entire event underscores the company’s commitment to propelling the growth of startups and MSMEs by providing them with 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 products and services. The platform provides new opportunities to scale up businesses with central and state governments, with a seller-friendly dashboard for monitoring orders and payments. These features, coupled with capabilities to sell products up to Rs 25,000 directly to government buyers, have huge potential to help onboarded MSMEs with better market linkages and business expansion.

Ahead of the action-packed three-day event, 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 the 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, GeM will showcase its comprehensive registration and onboarding process to the participating startups and women-led MSMEs, as well as its Interactive Multilingual Learning Management—an innovative solution to help sellers navigate the platform effortlessly. It will also provide a chance for MSMEs to connect with GeM representatives on queries and additional clarifications. Shri Singh, CEO of GeM, will also address the participants in a panel discussion on “Role of startups in realising 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.

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