Exclusive | ONDC to enable skill-based services on network

There will be some gestation period before users actually see these services on the network, ONDC CBO Shireesh Joshi said

In a bid to diversify its offerings, the central government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is looking to foray into skill-based services such as appliances repair, teaching assistance, among others, Chief Business Officer Shireesh Joshi told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.

ONDC currently allows participants to use its platform to offer food, groceries and mobility services.

With its foray into skill-based services, the network is eyeing participants that could come on board to offer such skill-based services, Joshi said, adding that a platform like Urban Company would be an appropriate candidate.

“There are a variety of sectors where people have reached out to us for categories currently not enabled on the network. One of them is skill-based services. We've had many requests, both from organisations as well as from many state governments. It will require certain specifications, in terms of building the protocol to enable it and then getting network participants to come on board,” he adds.

There will be some gestation period before users actually see these services on the network, he said.

“What we're doing is that we are developing the capability of the network to be able to enable these services and make sure that we are ready on all fronts. It is too soon to predict the timing because we are really in the early stages of these discussions right now,” he said.

Other requests include requirements of industrial products, such as metal alloys and construction material. “We are examining all of them and depending on the pace of progress, one or more of these will also get enabled,” says Joshi.

He seems confident of ONDC’s growth. “The network is bound to grow. We are bound to have more cities with sellers joining us,” he says.

Over 3 million transactions a month

ONDC’s weekly average orders have been crossing over 1 lakh transactions per day. The orders are steadily growing as it adds more sellers and service providers to the network as compared to 75,000-plus transactions per day that the network was clocking at the start of July.

On a monthly basis, the network is clocking over 3 million transactions a month, which were only 1 million in July-August.

ONDC has also forayed into international B2B exports with Proxtera, a Singapore-based buying application, coming in as its first international buyer app.

“As we increasingly get showcased at all national presentation events, ONDC has been garnering significant international attention. We were showcased at G20 events, and the Prime Minister himself spoke about ONDC at several places. This will facilitate the reach of Indian products to global markets,” Joshi says.

Meanwhile, keeping connected with India’s roots, the network is also making efforts to expand its roots to the rural areas.

ONDC is working with agencies like the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), NABARD, many philanthropic organisations, small and medium enterprises and the agriculture ministry, among others.

“It is through them that we get some rural outreach with small farmers. We also have many consortiums which onboard rural entrepreneurs on our network,” Joshi said.

On the further growth of the network, Joshi says it all depends on the resources of the network participants. “We are only playing an enabler. So it's hard to predict or give an exact timeline. At what pace we grow really depends on the responsiveness of the people we speak with and the speed with which they become aware of the network.”