E-commerce platform ONDC gets fund infusion of Rs 157.5 cr, more to follow

DPIIT e-commerce brainchild expects to raise Rs 42.5 cr more

Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) has received a fund infusion of Rs 157.5 crore for the first stage of its project from 17 banks and financial institutions, according to a source in the know.

The platform is expected to receive funds from a couple of other players in the next month which could take the total invested amount to Rs 200 crore, the source added.

So far, ONDC has received investment from Quality Council of India, Protean (earlier known as NSDL eGov), NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), SIDBI (Small Industries Bank of India), SBI (State Bank of India), PNB (Punjab National Bank), UCO Bank, Bank of Baroda, BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange), NSE (National Stock Exchange), CDSL (Central Depository Services Limited), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and CSC (Common Services Centre) eGovernance Services India.

Other than UCO Bank (3.17 per cent), BSE (4.76 per cent) and CSC eGovernance Services India (3.17 per cent) — who intend to invest in two stages — all other players have a 6.35 per cent stake, each, which they have purchased at Rs 10 crore each.

ONDC is a network based on open protocol and will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, and hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application. It is sponsored by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and has been set up as a Section 8 Company (non-profit organisation). The project plans to start the second round of its fund raise in the next 45 days and its operations in August, with a pilot launch in April.

Online platforms like PhonePe, Paytm, Dunzo, sellerapp, Microsoft, Tally, Gofrugal, FarEye, GrowthFalcons, eSamudaay, goodbox and the Federation of All Indian IT Associates are in advanced stages of integration with ONDC, another source said. Discussions were also on with more than 80 players across e-commerce to plug into the network. These include India Post, BHIM, Google Pay, Reliance Retail, Max Wholesale, Metro Brands, Zoho, Shoppers Stop, Government e-Marketplace, Pay Nearby, and Samsung.

ONDC intends to increase the gross merchandise value of digital transactions from the present Rs 4.5 trillion, annually, to over Rs 7.5 trillion in the next five years. The other intended five-year goals are to expand the coverage of retailers using digital commerce from 15,000 to more than 2 million and also multiply the share of Indians using e-commerce, to buy online, from 90 million users to more than 250 million users.