Assisted-commerce model puts local agents at centre of rural e-commerce adoption
A Forbes India thought-leadership piece argues that ONDC, India Post, SHGs and gig workers can help rural nano-sellers get online through commission-linked e-commerce Kendras handling onboarding, cataloguing, compliance, fulfilment and demand generation.
What happened
Thought-leadership piece argues that ONDC-led assisted commerce, supported by local agents, SHGs, India Post and gig workers, can bring rural nano-sellers
Key facts
- Rural e-commerce accounts for about 6–7% of retail sales in India
- China e-commerce penetration is 25–30% of retail sales
- 13.5 lakh Business Correspondent agents are deployed in India
- India Post has over 1.5 lakh post offices
- Bangladesh Ek-Shop connected more than 300,000 rural people and completed over 41,000 transactions worth Tk 4.17 crore in its first two years
- Mercado Libre supports over 9.5 million entrepreneurs and small businesses across its three largest markets
Why this matters
Partnership opportunities are emerging around ONDC, India Post, SHGs and gig-worker networks to build or acquire the local operating layer that can scale rural seller participation.