Have you ever heard of a similar incident where someone joins an initiative that is trying to challenge their own business? For example, if you are a startup owner then you might not fund a startup that is trying to do exactly what you are doing. That is exactly what Amazon has done as its CEO Jeff Bezos has pledged to join an Indian e-commerce initiative which plans to challenge the likes of Amazon and Walmart among others in the Asian markets. This initiative has a goal to “democratize” e-commerce in the Indian and other subcontinental markets and challenge the major players in the industry.
Right now, we know that the dominance of Amazon and others in Indian market, on the back of huge loads of cash, is such that smaller players trying to enter the market find it extremely difficult without enough funding. That is why an initiative was started by the Indian Government in 2021 known as Open Network for Digital Commerce. Amazon has announced that it will integrate its logistics network and SmartCommerce on this platform.
Amazon India’s Manish Tiwary said, “Amazon’s vision and commitment for India is closely aligned with ONDC’s objectives of digitally enabling small businesses, and providing convenience and choice to customers across the country,”. With this announcement, it definitely looks like Amazon is trying to be in the good books of the Indian Government and while we are not sure how helpful this integration will be, we do hope that it is fruitful for the initiative.
CEO of ONDC said, “We are happy that Amazon has a definite roadmap to being a part of the ONDC network and is taking its first step in coming in as the logistics partner in the ONDC network which is a globally pioneering idea established with a view to democratize digital commerce in India,”. Right now, the concept of ONDC is not very much clear but what is clear is the GOI’s vision that it wants to make a platform similar to UPI. With ONDC, the government wants to make an “interoperable” network where buyers and sellers can do business regardless of the app or service they use.
