Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in partnership with the Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is aiming to democratise and accelerate the
participation of small industries
Mumbai, August 8, 2022: ONDC, a first-of-its-kind initiative to democratise the country’s eCommerce ecosystem has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SIDBI, the
the principal financial institution set up under an Act of Parliament for promotion, financing
and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and for
coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. The partnership is
aimed to change the landscape of small industries by bringing them into the Open Network for Digital Commerce network and accelerating their participation.
The association between ONDC and SIDBI will establish a programmatic approach for
members of SIDBI’s network where sessions will be held first to educate them about
ONDC, then masterclass sessions on ONDC protocol and MVP definition, followed by
incentivised accelerator programs and finishing with participants and their ecosystems
going live and being able to transact.
The MoU, signed by Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMD, SIDBI and Shri T Koshy,
MD&CEO, ONDC, provides for several collaborative efforts by SIDBI and Open Network for Digital Commerce in helping MSMEs access the open network e-commerce platform proposed by ONDC.
T. Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC, said, “We are building a network of networks and through this
MoU, we will connect the SIDBI network with ONDC, which will revolutionize their
the ecosystem of small industries. This initiative will be a driving force to initiate the
participation of the small industries across the country in e-commerce on a larger scale
and enable their growth.”
S.Ramann, CMD, SIDBI, said “ SIDBI is very keen to ensure the success of this important
national initiative and it will leverage its strong relationships with all major MSME
industrial clusters in the country starting with Morbi, Coimbatore and Ludhiana for
engagement with ONDC. SIDBI will also facilitate the engagement of ONDC with its network
of partner grassroots agencies, inter-alia, working for market access to informal
enterprises. Three partners being introduced to ONDC are Annapurna Finance Pvt. Ltd,
Access Livelihoods Group and the women’s co-operative “Looms of Ladakh”. SIDBI will also
use its strong presence in the fintech ecosystem to explore e-commerce embedded financing
solutions. ”
Incorporated on 31st December 2021, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a
Section 8 company is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India build envisioned to
create a facilitative model to revolutionize digital commerce, giving greater thrust to
penetration of retail e-commerce in India. Open Network for Digital Commerce is not an application, platform, intermediary, or software, but a set of specifications designed to foster open, unbundled,
and interoperable open networks thereby eliminating the dependency on a single
platform.
Major ONDC objectives are as follows:
Democratisation and decentralization of eCommerce
Inclusivity and access for sellers, especially small and medium enterprises as well
as local businesses
Increased choices and independence for consumers
About SIDBI
SIDBI is the principal financial institution set up under an Act of Parliament for promotion,
financing and development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector
and for coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. Over the
years, SIDBI has been instrumental in taking up various initiatives for the development of
the MSME sector through credit and more importantly, credit plus activities.
Disclaimer : This is an official press release by SIDBI.
