Zoho pumps Rs 70 Cr into ONDC, bets on sovereign rails for MSME commerce
Chennai-based Zoho is backing ONDC's open network with a Rs 70 crore infusion, plugging its SaaS stack — Books, Inventory, Commerce — into the protocol. ONDC closed FY26 with 218M transactions and 10,000+ kirana stores onboarded via DigiDukaan, with order volumes growing 11X.
What happened
Zoho has invested Rs 70 crore in ONDC to back sovereign digital commerce infrastructure for MSMEs, with Zoho's SaaS tools integrating into the network. ONDC
Key facts
- Rs 70 crore
- 218 million transactions FY26
- 10,000 kirana stores
- 11X order growth FY26
Why this matters
Zoho's strategic ONDC stake reframes partnership math for SaaS and commerce platforms — sovereign rails are becoming a defensible moat, and late movers may face higher integration costs as DigiDukaan scales kirana onboarding.