Cars24, Zerodha, EaseMyTrip Among 12 Unicorns Joining ONDC Soon

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has announced that 12 Indian unicorn startups including the likes of EaseMyTrip, OfBusiness, Zerodha, PhysicsWallah and others have signed letters of intent to join the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). 

The list also includes Livspace, GlobalBees, Pristyn Care, Cars24, PolicyBazaar, DPIIT announced at ‘ONDC Startup Mahotsav’, a first-of-its-kind event that brought ONDC and Indian unicorns on the same stage. 

According to DPIIT, these unicorns will explore the use-cases for their individual products and platforms on ONDC. Besides these startups, over 125 other startup ecosystem stakeholders also entered similar agreements with the digital commerce network. However, the ministry hasn’t specified the exact details of these agreements. 

During the event, DPIIT’s Joint Secretary Sanjiv emphasised on the vision of the Government for the continuous collaboration between the startups and the ONDC. “Startups can play a pivotal role in ONDC ecosystem by driving innovation, fostering competition and enhancing consumer choice. More than 125 startups have committed to onboard to ONDC network in today’s event reflects the excitement and momentum of the national initiative”.

The letter of intent is a document outlining the understanding between parties, formalising a legally binding agreement. The DPIIT claims these LoIs signify the potential of ONDC and the eagerness of leading startups of the country to collaborate with the platform. 

The event, which was held in Delhi today (May 17), was held in conjunction by two of DPIIT’s flagship initiatives – the Startup India initiative and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). It saw participation from 5,000 startups in hybrid mode.

“The ONDC Startup Mahotsav is an inflexion point for startups in India to leverage the opportunities unlocked by ONDC. The network has rapidly grown and matured over the past one and a half years, and today’s session reflects both the DPIIT’s and industry’s commitment to democratising digital commerce in India,” DPIIT’s Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said. 

The motivation behind the event was to foster a dynamic between startups and the ONDC. The ministry said that it was also held to realise the 7.2 Mn transactions facilitated by ONDC in the past month.

“The ONDC Startup Mahotsav marks a pivotal moment in India’s digital transformation journey. By fostering collaboration and innovation within our ecosystem, we are empowering startups to redefine the rules of the game in e-commerce,” ONDC’s CEO and managing director T Koshy said.

ONDC’s Advantage For Startups

Officials close to the DPIIT told Inc42 that the ONDC is being seen as the government’s very own startup, which offers a collaboration platform for other startups. 

One official claimed that ONDC allows startups to scale up rapidly and acquire millions of users, while keeping their acquisition costs relatively low. “ONDC was built to help startups scale up rapidly by onboarding users across India. It is also a low-cost way to add new features to their products easily,” a DPIIT official told Inc42. 

Several unicorns are looking to ramp up their ONDC-related products in recent months.  For instance, Ola is working on giving its users the option to purchase groceries, apparel and lifestyle products via its app through an ONDC collaboration.

Similarly, PhonePe’s Pincode app offers food delivery services on the government-backed network, while the PhonePe app provides ticket booking services through ONDC. 

Launched in 2021 under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), ONDC is a network based on open protocol that will enable local commerce across multiple segments including grocery, mobility, among others. 

The DPIIT official added that ONDC currently is processing close to 10 Mn transactions per month, from about 7 Mn transactions per month last month. The network is live in nearly 600 cities across 10 categories, with over 5 Lakh active sellers, of which 70% are small or medium-sized sellers.