Nearly 150,000 merchants are on ONDC today: CEO
Zomato. This is because ONDC is not a private platform, but is instead a network that enables all platforms and service providers to inter-operate. Amazon on 24 February said it will join the protocol.
As part of its initial rollout, Amazon is providing its own logistics (pickup and delivery) services on the ONDC framework, as well as its ‘Smart Commerce’ services that offer software services to small companies to build and scale e-commerce operations. Homegrown fintech and e-commerce platforms Paytm and PhonePe have also joined the protocol, with the latter launching a dedicated app, Pincode, for ONDC-based services on 4 April. Big Tech has stepped in as well.
Microsoft announced on 9 August last year that it will be building a shopping app on the protocol, while on 28 June this year, Google announced an accelerator programme to boost adoption of ONDC among startups with ready-to-deploy software. On Wednesday, Singapore-headquartered venture capital firm Antler launched a platform for founders to adopt ONDC as well. “The protocol will now grow in an organic way—more people are aware of ONDC as a protocol, and this ensures that adoption will grow by itself.
Its availability stores on the likes of Paytm also ensures that the service is available practically in every market across India. This has also helped us move to markets beyond urban cities," Koshy said. This, Koshy said, is likely to help ONDC see an increase in activity on its protocol.
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