New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Zoho Corporation on Wednesday announced an investment of Rs 70 crore in Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to support the development of sovereign technology and strengthen India’s digital public infrastructure.

The Chennai-headquartered global technology company said the investment is aimed at making technology more accessible and inclusive for businesses of all sizes, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“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,” said Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, CEO of Zoho Payment Technologies and Global Head of Finance and Operations BU at Zoho.

He said ONDC gives power back to MSMEs by enabling them to expand customer reach and achieve sustainable growth.

“Zoho shares with ONDC its philosophy of building sovereign technology to champion accessibility, flexibility and inclusion of businesses of every size,” Iswaran added.

According to the company, ONDC enabled 218 million transactions during FY2025-26 as it continued expanding its network across sectors including retail, logistics, mobility and financial services.

Zoho said its finance and commerce applications such as Vikra, Zoho ERP, Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory and Zoho Commerce have been helping MSMEs digitise operations and connect with wider markets through the ONDC Network.

The company said the fresh investment would help expand ONDC’s ecosystem and accelerate digital commerce adoption among businesses across the country.

ONDC is building open digital commerce rails aimed at enabling interoperability, inclusivity and efficiency across sectors, while addressing structural challenges such as fragmented systems, high entry barriers and trust deficits in digital commerce.

The company said ONDC DigiDukaan onboarded more than 10,000 kirana stores within months of launch, while order volumes for farmers, artisans and rural sellers grew 11-fold during FY2025-26 through ONDC-enabled commerce models.

In logistics, ONDC’s FIFO fleet allocation model scaled 50 times within six months, improving utilisation and earnings opportunities for gig workers.

–IANS

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