New Delhi: The government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will emerge as a powerful e-commerce player in the near future, ONDC Managing Director and CEO T Koshy said on Monday.
Speaking to IANS, Kosi said the robust support the platform has received over the last 15 months is proof that ONDC has the potential to be a game changer in e-commerce.
“We will definitely become a powerful e-commerce company in the near future, with the ability to completely transform commerce, whether it be supply chain, distribution channels, B2B or B2C,” Kosi said.
He said ONDC will not focus only on e-commerce but will cover all segments.The diversity in the type of participation can be seen in FinTech companies like Paytm, Phone Pay and Ola.
“For example, consumers may be able to order food, consumer goods, fashion products and even hail a taxi. E-commerce as we know it will undergo a major transformation and will no longer be a walled garden but a very democratic place,” Koshy said.
“ONDC's sole objective is to democratize the e-commerce industry,” he said, adding, “The objective is to give market share to everyone.”
The ONDC chief said a very wide range of companies from different sectors are expected to join the network, and that it aims to “work together” to support both small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations.
Currently, the network has 550,000 merchants on board. Kgosi said the platform has received support from various ministries, including the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Agriculture, Fisheries and Youth Affairs.
He added that ONDC also works with larger organisations such as HUL and ITC, as well as bodies like SIDBI and NABARD.
“There is a wide range of people willing to get involved, from government, private sector, philanthropy and CSR. I believe this will become something of a movement across countries and sectors,” Kosi said.
