India’s digital commerce ecosystem received a major boost after Zoho Corporation announced an investment of ₹70 crore in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The investment is aimed at supporting the development of sovereign technology and improving digital access for businesses across the country.
The Chennai-based technology company said the funding will help make digital commerce more inclusive and accessible, especially for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) facing structural challenges in online business operations.
“Zoho Corporation…has invested ₹70 crore in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to support the development of sovereign technology in India,” the company said in a statement.
Zoho already supports MSME digitisation through its finance and business software ecosystem. Its offerings include the Vikra seller app on the ONDC network along with products such as Zoho ERP, Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Commerce.
The company said the latest investment would help expand the ONDC ecosystem further and accelerate adoption among businesses looking to participate in the digital economy.
According to Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, CEO of Zoho Payment Technologies and Global Head of Finance and Operations BU at Zoho, MSMEs continue to face multiple barriers in digital commerce despite playing a major role in India’s economy.
“India’s economy depends heavily on MSMEs, yet they face challenges on all fronts-from limited market access to structural constraints imposed by conventional digital platforms that rarely align with their unique needs,” Iswaran said.
He added that Zoho and ONDC share a common vision of building sovereign technology focused on accessibility, flexibility and inclusion for businesses of all sizes.
“Zoho shares with ONDC its philosophy of building sovereign technology to champion accessibility, flexibility and inclusion of businesses of every size,” Iswaran added.
The investment highlights growing efforts to strengthen India’s open digital commerce infrastructure and expand opportunities for smaller businesses in the online marketplace.
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