Is your business missing the ONDC wave?

If running a small business today, every rupee of margin can make the difference between growth and survival. For years, digital platforms promised reach but absorbed much of the profit through commissions of 25 to 30 percent, mandatory ad spends just to stay visible, and rules tilted in favor of bigger brands. Many MSMEs tried and quietly withdrew, while others never ventured in at all. The outcome was clear: even as India’s e-commerce sector boomed, its backbone millions of small enterprises remained on the sidelines.

That imbalance is now beginning to shift with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). Launched in 2022 and modeled after UPI, ONDC is rewriting the rules of online trade. Unlike the earlier closed platforms, ONDC is an open network where buyer apps and seller apps interoperate. This ensures that a product listed on one ONDC-enabled app can be discovered by buyers across multiple others. Sellers are no longer confined to a single marketplace’s ecosystem, nor required to pay steep costs simply to gain visibility.

The impact is already visible. By January 2025, ONDC had onboarded more than 7.6 lakh sellers across 616 cities, processing over 154 million cumulative orders. Notably, 84 percent of these sellers are small businesses. The reason is clear: the cost advantage is substantial. Instead of surrendering 25–30 percent of each sale to platform commissions, ONDC typically charges only 5–10 percent. In Kochi and Bhopal, local retailers have reported margin improvements of 15–25 percent since joining ONDC. These savings allow reinvestment in better raw materials, additional staff, new equipment, or simply sustaining operations with less financial strain.

Yet ONDC’s impact extends beyond cost savings. It is unlocking new markets that were previously unreachable. A weaver in Kutch can now connect directly with customers in Delhi without middlemen. Women-led bakeries in Patna are reaching customers far beyond their neighborhoods. Handicraft clusters in Varanasi are shipping products nationwide. As the network expands, opportunities are emerging not only for sellers but also for service providers. Entrepreneurs are offering cataloguing support to digitize local inventories, logistics companies are building innovative last-mile solutions in smaller towns, and fintechs are introducing credit and payment tools tailored for MSMEs. The ecosystem is evolving, and small enterprises are at its center.

The key takeaway is that ONDC is not just another platform, it represents a structural shift in Indian commerce. Just as UPI transformed digital payments, ONDC is redefining the way selling happens. Early adopters stand to gain the most whether by building visibility, capturing customers, or offering new services around the network. If you haven’t already, now is the time to act.

If you are an MSME, artisan, or entrepreneur interested in taking advantage of ONDC.

• Explore registering your business on local ONDC seller apps. (Visit ONDC’s official site for a list of certified seller apps.)
• Compare your current platform costs with ONDC’s 5–10% commission model.
• Audit product catalog and improve photos, titles, and descriptions. Look at competing products on ONDC to benchmark.
• Partner with nearby logistics providers to ensure consistent delivery, returns, and packaging standards.
• Learn about digital payments and integrate interoperable payment gateways, possibly consult fintechs working with ONDC.
• Attend webinars or trade-body workshops on ONDC onboarding, see if trade & MSME associations have plans

 The revolution has started, and the businesses that embrace it today are the ones that will lead tomorrow.