The Centre’s open e-commerce network ONDC is actively working with the MSME ministry to onboard MSMEs to the network through existing seller applications and also working to integrate MSME-Mart which has over 2 lakh MSMEs, said Minister of State in the commerce ministry Som Parkash. Operated by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) under the MSME ministry, MSME-Mart is a business-to-business portal to help MSMEs with market access through online presence by showcasing their products and services and enabling buyers and suppliers to connect.
Parkash said ONDC is also actively working with industry associations like the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), to onboard restaurants to the network through various food aggregators, he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Currently, over 59,000 food and beverage (F&B) sellers are present on ONDC and overall more than 2.3 Lakh sellers and service providers including small, medium and large enterprises.
ONDC was launched in 2021 to cater to the challenge of digital monopolies and digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers. E-commerce in India, which is likely to be worth $188 billion market by 2025 as per Grant Thornton, is currently led by Walmart’s Flipkart and Amazon India.
Parkash said ONDC has taken various initiatives to increase awareness, adaptation and training among small businesses to benefit from ONDC such as awareness workshops in collaboration with various industry associations such as RAI, PHDCCI, FICCI, NASSCOM and FHRAI to educate small sellers about ONDC, launched a Feet on Street programme to support the network participants in identifying and educating sellers about the benefits of ONDC, launched a repository of educational and informative textual and video content to help participants succeed.
Noting the impact of digital public infrastructure on the internet economy, consultancy firm RedSeer in a report launched on December 7 noted that ONDC stands out as a potential disruptor, poised to democratize e-commerce across sectors and potentially generate $250-300 billion in gross merchandise value by 2030.
Moreover, a whitepaper Commerce@Bharat by consulting firm Deloitte India in August this year had explained how ONDC will support and enable India’s MSME ecosystem to efficiently and cost-effectively address their demand and supplier connect. On the demand side, the paper explained, ONDC can provide MSME suppliers access to their customers while focusing on their core capabilities of designing and manufacturing products.
MSMEs can expand their business via easy access to digital commerce, diverse logistics options, and a large customer pool. MSMEs can also get better access to credit. With a broad network across seller and buyer apps, third-party services providers, and logistics and dispute resolution providers, the cost of using the network is expected to be relatively low, the paper had noted.