World Bank’s Study to understand the participation of Women-owned Businesses as Supplier for Public Procurement in India |
Background: The World Bank (www.worldbank.org) is the largest Multilateral Development Bank (MDB), which provided financing to the tune of US$ 115 Billion during 2022. In addition, the World Bank also contributes to generation of knowledge in the form of research, studies, reports etc. Public Procurement is one of the focus areas for research by the World Bank as countries across the world spend up to 20% of their GDP through public procurement, which directly impacts development in these countries.
India spends about US$ 700 Billion on public procurement, however very few of these contracts are awarded to women-owned business. Some other countries have done relatively better on this count – for example General Services Administration (GSA) of USA awarded 10% contracts to women-led businesses during 2020. This demonstrates the tremendous potential for women-led business to improve their participation in government contracts. To understand the underlying reasons for this low rate of award of contracts to women-owned businesses as well as to suggest remedial measures, it is proposed to conduct a study.
We would be thankful if you kindly spare a few minutes to answer the following questions related to the study.
Please note the following:
a) Individual survey responses will be for internal use of the World Bank and will not be disclosed to third parties.
b) This survey is not by or for the government, and sole objective of this survey is to understand the barriers being faced by women-owned businesses and suggest remedial measures.
c) This survey is about procurement by government or public sector and not about procurement by the World Bank.
d) We will also not attribute a particular comment to you to maintain confidentiality. Only broader analysis of responses will be part of the Report to be published.
India spends about US$ 700 Billion on public procurement, however very few of these contracts are awarded to women-owned business. Some other countries have done relatively better on this count – for example General Services Administration (GSA) of USA awarded 10% contracts to women-led businesses during 2020. This demonstrates the tremendous potential for women-led business to improve their participation in government contracts. To understand the underlying reasons for this low rate of award of contracts to women-owned businesses as well as to suggest remedial measures, it is proposed to conduct a study.
We would be thankful if you kindly spare a few minutes to answer the following questions related to the study.
Please note the following:
a) Individual survey responses will be for internal use of the World Bank and will not be disclosed to third parties.
b) This survey is not by or for the government, and sole objective of this survey is to understand the barriers being faced by women-owned businesses and suggest remedial measures.
c) This survey is about procurement by government or public sector and not about procurement by the World Bank.
d) We will also not attribute a particular comment to you to maintain confidentiality. Only broader analysis of responses will be part of the Report to be published.