Posted by Mumbai: Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate e-commerce for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The MoU aimed to change the landscape of MSMEs by bringing them into the ONDC network and accelerating their participation in e-commerce. ONDC, a first-of-its-kind initiative to democratise the country’s e-commerce ecosystem.
The association will establish a programmatic approach for MSMEs. It will involve imparting educational and informative sessions for MSMEs about ONDC, training sessions on ONDC protocol and MVP definition. After which incentivised accelerator programs will be rolled out and followed by participants and their ecosystems going live and being able to transact.
Sivasubramanian Ramann, CMD of SIDBI and T Koshy, MD and CEO of ONDC signed the MoU. It undertakes several collaborative efforts by ONDC and SIDBI in helping MSMEs access the open network e-commerce platform proposed by ONDC.
“We are building a network of networks and through this MoU, we will connect the SIDBI network with ONDC, which will revolutionize the ecosystem of small industries. This initiative will be a driving force to initiate the participation of the small industries across the country onto e-commerce on a larger scale and enable their growth,” said Koshy.
“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,” said Ramann.
“SIDBI will also facilitate engagement of ONDC with its network of partner grassroots agencies, inter-alia, working for market access to informal enterprises,” added Ramann.
Three partners Annapurna Finance, Access Livelihoods Group and the women’s co-operative ‘Looms of Ladakh’ have been introduced to ONDC.
SIDBI will also use its strong presence in the fintech ecosystem to explore e-commerce embedded financing solutions, according to Ramann.