SaaS company Zoho has invested ₹70 crore (approximately $7.3 million) in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), backing India’s digital public infrastructure and aiming to expand digital commerce access for small businesses.
The investment, announced in May 2026, supports ONDC’s broader goal of making ecommerce more open and accessible for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), reducing their dependence on large tech platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Zoho already works with ONDC across several of its products, including Vikra, Zoho ERP, Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Commerce — tools that help MSMEs digitise operations, manage inventory, handle accounting and connect with customers on the ONDC network.
ONDC is a protocol launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2021. Unlike platform-centric models, it operates as an open, decentralised network where any buyer application can connect with any seller regardless of the app either party uses. Its founding members include the Quality Council of India and Protean eGov Technologies, while investors include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, SIDBI and ICICI Bank.
ONDC reported 21.8 crore transactions across retail, logistics, mobility and financial services during FY26 and is currently operational in 616 cities. It has onboarded more than 7.64 lakh sellers and service providers.
Despite that scale, retail transaction volumes have faced pressure. Monthly retail orders — covering food delivery, grocery, fashion and electronics — fell to 4.6 million in February 2025 from a peak of 6.5 million in October 2024. Buyer-side apps including Paytm, Magicpin and Ola also reduced discounts on ONDC orders after the network scaled back incentive payouts. ONDC has not yet disclosed more recent transaction figures.
In logistics, ONDC has onboarded players including Delhivery, Shadowfax, Loadshare, Porter and Amazon Logistics, with its FIFO fleet allocation model reported to have scaled 50 times within six months.
Source: Inc42 Media