From Left to Right: Mr. Santosh Kotre, Director, Finance, Accounts and Admin; Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai; Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai and President All India Association of Industries (AIAI), Shri Satya Narayan Meena, Additional CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Government e Marketplace (GeM) and Ms. Priya Pansare, Director – Trade and Investment Promotion, World Trade Centre, Mumbai
Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai and President All India Association of Industries (AIAI) (2nd from the left) and Shri Satya Narayan Meena, Additional CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Government e Marketplace (GeM) (2nd from the right) signs MoU at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai along with Capt. Somesh Batra, Vice Chairman, WTC Mumbai (extreme right); Mr. Praneet Kumar Singh, Chief Manager – Training at Government e Marketplace (third from the right); Ms. Priya Pansare, Director – Trade and Investment Promotion, World Trade Centre, Mumbai (extreme left).
This agreement will integrate MSMEs further into government procurement and buttress Atmanirbhar Bharat objective: Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai and President All India Association of Industries (AIAI)
19th January 2026, Mumbai – Government e-Marketplace (GeM), India's National Procurement Portal, and MVIRDC World Trade Centre Mumbai (WTC Mumbai) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to foster domestic and international collaboration in public procurement. This partnership aims to enhance GeM's global positioning, promote knowledge exchange, and drive inclusive participation for MSMEs, startups, women entrepreneurs, and underrepresented suppliers.
The MoU establishes a structured framework for joint initiatives, such as global procurement dialogues, capacity-building programs, supplier outreach, and research on emerging themes like AI in procurement, sustainability, and green practices.
Through MVIRDC Mumbai's extensive international network, the collaboration will facilitate webinars, trade fairs, and buyer-seller meets, enabling Indian MSMEs to access global opportunities while onboarding international suppliers to GeM.
Shri Satya Narayan Meena, Additional CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Government e Marketplace (GeM) said, "This MoU marks a pivotal step in evolving GeM into a globally benchmarked platform. With over one crore registered users on the GeM portal, ensuring wider exposure and market access is crucial. By leveraging MVIRDC’s trade and exhibition expertise, we aim to empower MSMEs, women entrepreneurs and smaller enterprises while further strengthening India’s digital procurement ecosystem.”
He further highlighted Womaniya programme, which is playing a key role in empowering women entrepreneurs by enhancing their visibility, access to markets, and participation in public procurement, which enables women to reach greater heights.
Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai and President All India Association of Industries (AIAI) in his remarks, " WTC Mumbai is proud to partner with GeM to bridge domestic public procurement with a diverse range of markets. WTC Mumbai plays a catalyst role in facilitating MSME’s, Women entrepreneurs, startups and With this partnership they will gain access to market and government procurement which will further strengthen their position and supports them to meet their goals through GeM portal”
“WTC Mumbai has advocated for timely credit to MSME’s and women entrepreneurs to ensure their competitiveness to the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India, falling in place these would also further strengthen the MSME’s towards the objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Since its inception in 2016, GeM continues to scale new heights, in the coming years it has the potential to evolve beyond B2G into B2C or B2E models, further expanding its reach and impact”. stated Dr. Kalantri
Key areas of collaboration include:
- Knowledge Exchange and Policy Dialogue: Joint conferences, policy briefs, and research on AI, transparency, and MSME inclusion.
- Capacity Building and Training: Global training hubs, workshops, and train-the-trainer programs for procurement officials and suppliers.
- Global Procurement Integration: Supplier readiness toolkits and compliance frameworks for international opportunities.
- Global Supplier Outreach: International Outreach initiatives, GeM pavilions at trade fairs and economic forums, roadshows, and partnerships via WTC networks.
A Joint Working Group will oversee the implementation of the initiative, ensuring full alignment with Government of India policies on public procurement, data security, and inclusivity. This collaboration supports the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) agenda, particularly for MSMEs, and strengthens transparent and efficient digital procurement practices. The initiative also contributes to the larger vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 by promoting innovation, empowering domestic enterprises, and positioning India as a global leader in digital public procurement.
