New Delhi, Dec 11 (KNN) The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has partnered with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to onboard MSMEs onto the network via existing seller applications, said Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce, Som Parkash.

MSME-Mart, managed by the MSME ministry through the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), serves as a Business-to-Business (B2B) platform facilitating market access for MSMEs.

ONDC is also working to integrate MSME-Mart, which has more than 2 lakh MSMEs, he added.

It accomplishes this by offering a digital showcase for MSMEs to present their products and services, facilitating seamless connections between buyers and suppliers.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Parkash stated that ONDC is currently collaborating proactively with industry associations such as the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), to bring restaurants onto the network using different food aggregators.

Currently, over 59,000 food and beverage (F&B) sellers are present on ONDC and overall, more than 2.3 Lakh sellers and service providers including small, medium and large enterprises, as reported by FE.

Parkash noted that ONDC has implemented several measures to enhance awareness, adoption, and training for small businesses aiming to leverage ONDC's benefits.

These initiatives include organizing awareness workshops in partnership with industry associations like RAI, FISME, PHDCCI, FICCI, NASSCOM, and FHRAI to educate small sellers about ONDC.

Additionally, a Feet on Street program was introduced to assist network participants in identifying and educating sellers about the advantages of ONDC. Furthermore, a repository of educational textual and video content was launched to provide valuable information and support participants in achieving success.

(KNN Bureau)