ONDC Teams Up With Meta To Bring Small Businesses On The Network

Tech giant Meta and the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) announced a partnership to enable and educate small businesses to build conversational buyer and seller experiences on WhatsApp.

While Meta will bring its ecosystem of business and technical solution providers to the table, ONDC will allow these solution providers to become seller apps, thus bringing the businesses they service onto the ONDC network and helping them drive commerce.

In a statement, the companies said they would digitally upskill 5 Lakh MSMEs over the next five years via the Meta Small Business Academy, which offers certifications to empower entrepreneurs and marketers to gain digital marketing skills to grow on the Meta apps.

Speaking on the partnership, T Koshy, MD and CEO of ONDC, said, “Our partnership with Meta will not only digitally upskill these businesses but will also enable them to connect with a customer base far and wide. We are confident that our collaborative efforts will pave the way for millions of small businesses by providing them with the right impetus for growth.”

As part of the partnership, Meta will also support Sahayak, ONDC’s WhatsApp chatbot, in enhancing the services offered on the bot as the single point of seller communication and customer communication for ONDC.

Sandhya Devanathan, VP of Meta in India, said, “Meta has been a frontrunner in partnering with the government and the industry to advance digital inclusion, especially for MSMEs across India. Our partnership with ONDC builds on supporting the government’s vision for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and furthering our ongoing commitment to skilling small businesses and aiding this rapid digital transformation and growth story in the country.”

The development comes as ONDC has been partnering with multiple companies to enhance the services it offers to network partners. Last month, Ola Cabs was said to be in talks with ONDC to offer last-mile delivery services to sellers on the platform.

The government’s digital commerce network also recently launched the ONDC Official Guide App to help and support the user community like sellers, buyers, logistics providers and network participants. The app is available on Google Play Store with language support in English, Hindi and 10 other Indian languages.

Since its launch in September 2021, ONDC has come leaps and bounds ahead of where it was a year ago. As per a RedSeer report from earlier this month, the digital commerce network is poised to potentially generate $250-300 Bn in ecommerce GMV by 2030.

However, recent comments from Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh indicated that ONDC still had some kinks to iron out. Speaking at an event, Singh said it is important to address the liability issues to provide satisfactory services to the consumers.

“If I order through an app of a bank through Amazon and buy it from a seller located elsewhere and I get the wrong phone, then who is liable? So the issue of liability… I keep telling Mr T Koshy (ONDC CEO) that you have to address the issue of liability otherwise this thing is not going to work,” Singh said.