Zoho invests Rs 70 Cr in ONDC to strengthen open digital commerce infrastructure
Backed by DPIIT, ONDC network reportedly processed more than 218 million transactions during FY26.
Zoho Corporation has invested Rs 70 crore in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) as part of its broader push to support sovereign digital infrastructure and improve technology access for MSMEs across India.
The Chennai-based SaaS company said the investment is aimed at making ecommerce more open, interoperable, and inclusive for small businesses that continue to face market access and platform dependency challenges under traditional marketplace models.
Founded in 1996 by Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, Zoho has grown into one of India’s largest bootstrapped SaaS companies, serving customers across more than 180 countries through its suite of cloud-based enterprise software products.
Commenting on the development, Sivaramakrishnan Iswaran, CEO of Zoho Payment Technologies and Global Head of Finance and Operations BU at Zoho, said India’s MSME ecosystem continues to face structural barriers in digital commerce, making open infrastructure initiatives such as ONDC increasingly important.
Backed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), ONDC is building an interoperable ecommerce network designed to lower entry barriers for merchants, sellers, and service providers. The network reportedly processed more than 218 million transactions during FY26.
Zoho said products such as Vikra, Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, and Zoho Commerce are already helping MSMEs digitise operations and integrate with the ONDC ecosystem.
ONDC has also been expanding its rural and small merchant reach through initiatives such as DigiDukaan, which has reportedly onboarded over 10,000 kirana stores within months of launch. The network further stated that order volumes from farmers, artisans, and rural sellers grew 11-fold during FY26.
The investment comes shortly after ONDC appointed Vibhor Jain as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Jain had previously served as the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer and interim CEO during the leadership transition. Previously Rohit Lohia joined ONDC as Chief Business Officer.