Trade marketing scheme soon to assist small companies board ONDC

New Delhi: The government will soon launch a trade marketing scheme to help micro and small enterprises (MSE) onboard the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and participate in digital commerce, said officials.

The micro, small and medium enterprises ministry has proposed the Trade Enablement & Marketing (TEAM) scheme, with an outlay of ₹277 crore, to expand MSEs' business beyond the bricks-and-mortar model through ONDC, India's mega network, which seeks to enable buyers and sellers to transact through a single platform.

"The TEAM initiative aims to help MSEs compete in the digital space using the ONDC," said an official, who did not wish to be identified. On ONDC, sellers don't have to pay high commission of 30-40% as on other e-marketplaces, the official said.

ONDC is based on protocols that make e-commerce more inclusive and accessible for stakeholders. Applications or platforms using the ONDC allow sellers listed across e-commerce platforms, including local kirana stores, to be visible to the buyers.

The government is targeting 500,000 MSEs through the scheme, helping MSEs across stages of digital commerce to fulfil the orders. The scheme is expected to run till 2026-27.

"The amount under the scheme will be provided as subsidies to MSEs through seller network participant (SNP) for various services such as catalogue creation, account management, packaging and logistics," said another official.

SNPs act as a bridge between the seller and the ONDC network through an application, facilitating payments and other services on the network. Under the account management component, SNPs will help MSEs get initial orders, added the official.

National Small Industries Corporation, the same body responsible for the upkeep and operation of MSME Mart, will implement the scheme.