Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through ONDC

The economy in India is becoming more diverse, and women are being seen as the champions of the new generation of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, there are many issues that women entrepreneurs encounter, especially regarding the digital economy. It is an emerging revolutionary concept known as the Open Network for Digital Commerce, which is a ray of hope to fill these gaps and encourage women entrepreneurs. In this particular blog post, I will describe how ONDC helps women entrepreneurs by providing examples of their performance and explaining why it is important for the network.

Introduced in December 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Ministry of Commerce, ONDC is not just another digital platform or marketplace. It is a new paradigm that aims to level the playing field of digital commerce through decentralized, pluralistic, and integrated solutions. The goal of this initiative is to ensure that everyone can have access to this digital marketplace, and it will target women, artisans, and small business undertakers.

Among the key challenges faced by women's entrepreneurial activities is the lack of equal opportunities in the digital economy. Vimers and other such small-scale, women-led enterprises have been left out of even traditional e-commerce platforms because they often lack digital skills, money to invest, and knowledge of marketing. ONDC tackles these challenges head-on because it constructs a conducive digital environment that is free of bias and is easy to use.
This is because, through ONDC, the necessary infrastructure for the sales channel, logistics, and payment has already been created, thus significantly reducing the amount of effort required to open an online store. This cuts the competition cord and opens the path through which women are able to concentrate more on their products and services as opposed to struggling with paperwork.

While different from a marketplace, ONDC Network is an all-encompassing ecosystem that assists its users. This entails information, education, technical support, and individual appreciation from specific sellers. For example, the network provides courses in digital skills and business practices, which are vital to the modern economy. This educational support is crucial in preparing women entrepreneurs with appropriate tools to enable them to thrive.

ONDC also has what can be considered a flagship concept of creating a community of women entrepreneurs. ONDC supports women-led business entities, artisans, and social entrepreneurs and connects them all into an ecosystem where they can learn from one another and also support each other. This sense is valuable as it offers a source of partnership for women entrepreneurs as they can easily find someone who understands their experience.

Understanding the effects of the ONDC on women entrepreneurs cannot be better explained through the success stories of women who have sold their businesses to ONDC.

SHWET holds memberships of over 1000 artisans, and it functions on the basis of artisans. The founder, Vibhha Mishra, has managed to include SHWET in ONDC, enhancing the production flow, design skills, and outreach to new artisans across the country. The features, such as the receptive technical support offered by ONDC and the personalized seller recognition, have enabled Vibhha and her team to concentrate on their art while ONDC catered to the technicalities of the business.

Craftizen is an organization that focuses on Indian handicraft makers and aims to help create successful sales for them. While joining the ONDC network, Mayura Balasubramanian realized that the network could work as an effective intermediary between supply and demand, which had been a main issue for her company. Craftizen has been able to reach diverse customers through ONDC and sell its products since it caters to people who appreciate traditional Indian artistic work.

Pune-based Anubhuti was another brand that recorded a very high volume of sales after it joined the ONDC network. Without using any paid ads or campaign, within four months, Anubhuti had made nearly four times its usual sales. This growth is due to ONDC's new diverse and inclusive strategy, better discoverability, better customer reach, improved communication with customers, and relatively reduced commissions that are charged compared to other e-commerce marketplaces.

Very Much Indian is a brand that sells handmade products and empowers rural weavers by purchasing their products directly. ONDC has remained supportive of Slony Gambhir during the onboarding and running of her business, making it cover vast regions. With the help of cataloging and uploading products and promotions possible through social media, ONDC has a crucial role in the success of the brand.

Digital inclusion can be said to be at the core of ONDC as it aims to support its members. Here are several ways ONDC positively impacts women entrepreneurs by making digital commerce more inclusive:

It helps women entrepreneurs access markets outside their physical locality, hence expanding their marketing horizons. Thus, via ONDC, businesses can gain access to the national and even the international market, enhancing their sales considerably.

Traditional marketing techniques have proven to be costly, and as such, they are not easily affordable by small business companies. Thus, ONDC offers affordable marketing solutions since women involved in selling their products and services cannot afford expensive advertisements.

Supported by business digital solutions and resources, the ONDC plays a role in facilitating and simplifying business processes. This increased efficiency makes it possible for women entrepreneurs to run their businesses more efficiently hence improving the productivity and profitability of the venture.

As a part of its educational programs, ONDC also provides management training, especially in the areas of financial management to enable the women entrepreneurs manage their financial affairs more effectively. It plays a vital role in the capacity to make good business decisions and the ability to support the long-term growth of business.

Indeed, for most women, running a business is a noble and rewarding life endeavor owing to the independence it brings them. ONDC's supportive ecosystem increases confidence since the tools one needs are provided, leaving one feeling that one can do it.

ONDC empowers women entrepreneurs because it offers a vast, exclusive, and friendly environment for digital commerce. As a structurally sound organization addressing the gaps left in current infrastructure and presenting a progressive model for tailored support, ONDC can provide for a significantly different economic environment for women in India.

Entrepreneurial women have a key role to play within the framework of economic development. Through ONDC, the various entities are empowered and this spreads positively across the scale of individual businesses as well as the national and global economy. Women's engagement in the activities in the digital economy can boost employment, innovation and sustainable economy.

Engaging Women Entrepreneurs also helps in triggering social change. When women are empowered through earning an income, they become role models for others in their society. It can lead to a change of social perception of women in business and thus resulting to more women venturing into business.

A number of the female-run enterprises on ONDC are primarily involved in the sale of handmade items and other locally produced goods. In this regard, ONDC offers significant support and contributes to sustaining and circulating the culture of these old and heritage business ventures of India. This not only serves to advance the local economy but also helps preserve and transmit traditional skills and craftsmanship to future generations.

The contribution of women entrepreneurs proves that they are capable of coming up with different ideas from the conventional way of thinking. Such solutions can be supported and developed using platforms like ONDC that will diversify and enliven the market in general.

The ONDC, or the Open Network for Digital Commerce, is not simply a network ecosystem; the entity speaks of a revolution that is dedicated to women entrepreneurs through employing the right tools, resources, and opportunities. ONDC is opening up opportunities for women entrepreneurs, artisans, craftsmen, and persons with disabilities, as well as extending support to social enterprises in the country. Hence, ONDC bridging the gaps in the digital e-commerce ecosystem is not only enabling individual entrepreneurs but also fueling economic growth, bringing social change, and so on, apart from protecting cultural identity. The success stories of women entrepreneurs on ONDC now form the case studies on how this network has the possibility of changing the economic future of women in India in the most positive way.