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.

— Filed Tue, 28 Jul, 2026, 15:15 IST · Source Forbes India · Updated

Thought-leadership piece argues that ONDC-led assisted commerce, supported by local agents, SHGs, India Post and gig workers, can bring rural nano-sellers online. It proposes commission-linked e-commerce Kendras to provide continuous support for onboarding, cataloguing, compliance, fulfilment and demand generation.

Why this matters

The proposal extends ONDC's retailer and MSME focus after its retailer-focused relaunch and Kerala's plan to use ONDC for MSME exports, adding local agents as an adoption layer for rural sellers.

Omni-channel is steady at 1,651 signals in 90 days; no QoQ comparison figure was provided.