SME Times News Bureau | 30 Aug, 2019
Government e Marketplace (GeM) on Thursday signed
an MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to benefit
MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), Women Self Help Groups and
various loan beneficiaries under MUDRA and Stand-up India scheme.
This MoU will enable promotion of special
initiatives of GeMlike Womaniya and Start-up Runway with SIDBI stakeholders,
said an official statement.
GeM and SIDBI will take steps to ensure payments
within a guaranteed timeframe to sellers, enhance working capital availability
through bill discounting and control NPAs through control of end use.
Speaking on the
occasion, CEO GeM, Talleen Kumar, highlighted thatpartnership
with financial institutions like SIDBI is necessary in GeM’s journey towards
outreach to MSMEs, Micro Enterprises, Start-ups, Artisans, who can now also
sell to Government on an open, transparent and technology-driven platform.
The Government eMarketplace wants
to empower these sellers throughthepayments within a guaranteed time frame by
auto-debiting GeM Pool Account, provide working capital by giving the choice of
Bill Discounting to MSMEs – with only PSU banks initially, by linking cost of
working capital to the performance and rating of the seller, and by providing
creditors better visibility on end use of working capital loans.
This
will contribute tremendously to the growth of MSMEs and Start-ups.
Chairman and MD, SIDBI, Mohammad Mustafa,
hailedGeM for its efforts to align SHGs, women entrepreneurs, artisans, NGOs,
Start-ups and other sectors with public procurement and strengthen the existing
MSME ecosystem.
While highlighting various efforts of SIDBI to
ensure access to finance for MSMEs in the country, he mentioned that, the MoU
would strengthen capacity building through GeM-specific training programmes of
personnel from partner agencies, value-added services through networking,
workshops, marketing events, awards and recognition of MSMEs with special focus
on SHGs, women entrepreneurs, artisans, NGOs, Start-ups and micro
enterprises.
The MoU of GeM with SIDBI is yet another step
towards its growing partnership with financial institutions to enable growth of
MSMEs and Start-ups in the country.