Zoho has invested ₹700 million in ONDC to strengthen India’s sovereign open digital commerce ecosystem, aiming to help MSMEs reduce dependence on conventional platform-controlled marketplaces.
Zoho Corporation has invested ₹700 million in Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to support the development of sovereign technology infrastructure in India and strengthen the country’s open digital commerce ecosystem.
The investment reinforces ONDC’s interoperable open-network model, which allows merchants and customers to connect directly instead of relying on conventional platform-controlled marketplaces. Zoho said the initiative is intended to make digital commerce more accessible and inclusive for businesses of all sizes, particularly 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. ONDC gives power back to MSMEs, enabling them to expand their customer reach and achieve sustainable growth,” said Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran.
ONDC enabled 218 million transactions in FY26 and reported a 127% rise in revenue to ₹334.1 million in FY25, although it posted a net loss of ₹1471.3 million during the same period. The non-profit Section 8 company recently appointed Vibhor Jain as MD and CEO.
The network is backed by more than 20 institutions, including National Payments Corporation of India, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Protean eGov Technologies.
