ONDC plans partnerships to develop new solutions: Koshy
Premium- The protocol seeks to allow anyone to create their e-commerce marketplace and tap into the ONDC network to get sellers
NEW DELHI : The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a non-profit entity set up by the Union government’s department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, is planning a series of partnerships with various agencies to activate enablements in various domains. For instance, ONDC partnered with the National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (Nabard) last week to host the Nabard-ONDC Grand Challenge for enabling e-commerce in agriculture.The ONDC protocol was framed to enable online retail across sectors wherein the sellers aren’t owned by any particular private party.
The protocol seeks to allow anyone to create their e-commerce marketplace and tap into the ONDC network to get sellers.
In an interview, T. Koshy, chief executive of ONDC, said the partnership was a first step. He added that the non-profit organization, which runs the ONDC network protocol, is now planning a similar association with the Small Industries and Development Bank of India (Sibdi) for small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Sidbi invested ₹10 crore for a 7.84% stake in ONDC in March this year.
“We should have a series of plans to help people make use of this opportunity," said Koshy. “What we’ve done with Nabard is just a first step. We said let’s start with the agriculture sector to help farmers and farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to sell products in the larger market. We identified nine unique problems which can be digitally solved, and organized this hackathon to let people come around with smart solutions," he added.
He said the programme with Nabard itself will run for six months or more to help the ideas convert into solutions. ONDC is also “in touch with" state MSME ministries, and Koshy said Kerala is the first state to start an active programme around the protocol.
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“Essentially, this is a series of activities in which ONDC, its investors, and ministries are all coming together to enable MSMEs to take advantage of the opportunity being created by ONDC," he said.