To raise awareness about its various processes, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is all set to launch an academy by next month. The ONDC Academy aims to develop a more robust ecosystem of certified sellers, buyers, and logistics network partners in the country.

Unlike other online commerce platforms, ONDC Network is decentralised, and many of the functions involved in e-commerce are unbundled. Since there is no central platform, the legal relationships between participants on the network and buyers and sellers are different than in the platform model. Network participants, which include buyer and seller apps, need to align with various processes and systems that govern ONDC in terms of payments, commercial relationships, settlements, and grievance redressal, among others.

T Koshy, CEO, ONDC, told businessline, “By next month, we plan to launch the ONDC Academy to develop an ecosystem of network partners and train them about various processes, rules and regulations, and other aspects for onboarding on ONDC. This will be done through the certification process, and we will be using the National Stock Exchange’s certification platform for the same. I believe this will help create a pool of certified network participants.”

The course modules are being designed by the internal team, which is currently handholding network participants to get onboard ONDC. As of now, there are over 46 network participants, which include biggies such as HUL and ITC and brands such as SleepyOwl and Wow. Intercity logistics providers like ShipRocket, Delhivery, and Loadshare are also live on the network. The idea is to scale this network, and the academy can play a part in training, and certified partners will have an advantage.

Currently, over 35,000 retail merchants are ONDC-enabled, and 38 lakh products are available through the network. The key seller apps that have integrated with ONDC include Paytm, Mystore, Craftsvilla, Spice Money, Magicpin, and Pincode. Earlier this month, ONDC said the number of orders increased from 50 per day in January to a peak of over 25,000 in early May. It added that it has expanded its geographic footprint in terms of the number of cities with merchants present, which increased from 85 in January to over 230 in early May.

Adding B2B

Many categories, such as food and beverage, grocery, home decor, electronics, mobility, fashion, and beauty, have been added to ONDC. While so far the platform has been focused on B2C (business-to-consumer) activities, it will be adding a B2B (business-to-business) element too soon.

“Over the past few months, we have been adding new categories. We will also launch B2B as a category in a limited way this week,” Koshy said.

Observers have noted that B2B e-commerce, which is currently fragmented, offers exciting growth prospects. According to Statista, B2B e-commerce in India is expected to rise from $5.6 billion in 2021 to $60 billion in 2025, while Redseer has pegged it to reach a GMV of $90-100 billion by 2030.