Through innovation and the deployment of digital solutions outside of traditional banking, the collaboration with Gofrugal Technologies Pvt. Ltd strengthens DBS Bank India’s approach to modernizing SME banking.
Gofrugal Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a platform that provides Omnichannel ERP solutions, and DBS Bank India announced their collaboration. The company helps enterprise customers, such as micro, small and medium enterprises and retail merchants (SMEs) as well as retail merchants, to embrace the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and grow their digital presence. Through innovation and the deployment of digital solutions outside of traditional banking, the collaboration strengthens DBS Bank India’s approach to modernizing SME banking. It also illustrates the bank’s commitment to providing MSMEs and SMEs with profitable services while figuring out new methods to do it.
ONDC is expected to drive the Gross Merchandise Value of India from 4.5 lakh crore to 7.5 lakh crore. Gofrugal Technologies acts as one of its technology partners and is a front-runner in the field of ERP for onboarding seller apps by digitizing their store, inventory, and operations. The Government of India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) programme is a platform built on a universal standard that would enable local commerce in a variety of industries, including mobility, groceries, food order and delivery, hotel booking, and travel. In order to compete with the large international e-commerce companies that now hold the majority of the market share in India, the government introduced ONDC in April.
The platform provides MSMEs with a fair playing field in an effort to open up new alternatives. The ONDC will promote innovation, especially in the start-up ecosystem, and increase the country’s use of digital technology. ONDC is expected to drive the Gross Merchandise Value of India from 4.5 lakh crore to 7.5 lakh crore. Gofrugal Technologies acts as one of its technology partners and is a front-runner in the field of ERP for onboarding seller apps by digitizing their store, inventory, and operations, said DBS Bank India in a statement.
Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director & Head – Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank India, said, “India’s burgeoning e-commerce market is expected to reach US$120 billion by 2026, according to a FICCI-Anarock report. With ONDC opening opportunities and levelling the playing field for merchants across cities, the sector has demonstrated tremendous potential to grow in tier 2/3 markets and metro cities. Our partnership with Gofrugal enables us to drive tech-based solutions for merchants desirous of joining the ONDC network, thereby enabling wider participation in the next wave of e-commerce sector growth. A partner like Gofrugal is integral for bringing the ecosystem together and accelerating the time-to-market. We are grateful to our partners and intermediaries, including regulators, who’ve collectively worked towards delivering this innovative solution to the merchants.”
“Gofrugal is excited to partner with DBS Bank India to help SMEs acquire a significant share in the fast-growing digital commerce ecosystem. DBS Bank India is a strong SME enabler, and Gofrugal is the omnichannel ERP of choice for SMEs in India. We expect this partnership to offer significant benefits to SMEs by enriching their customer experience in accessing capital, processing payments and reducing the friction and effort in managing their finances. This will help the proprietors and partners of SME businesses to focus more on market opportunities and serve their customers well. In line with the vision and goal of ONDC, it will truly enable SME businesses to defend their dominant hyper-local position, which offers increasing opportunities to them.” adds Kumar Vembu, CEO of Gofrugal Technologies.
DBS Bank India said it aims to offer its robust digital platforms and straight-through processing to improve the servicing of loans and seeks to reimagine the entire customer journey to shorten the lending cycle. The bank said in a statement that it will also expand its digital solutions beyond traditional banking, such as loans and cater to the other requirements of SMEs and MSMEs, such as the ability to efficiently handle payments, payroll, cash management, insurance, and third-party products.
The bank launched its collaboration with Stellapps earlier this year in an effort to boost dairies’ access to digitization while simultaneously promoting financial inclusion. The bank unveiled a cutting-edge payment method for the Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCI) in 2020. It also developed real-time online monitoring for cross-border collections for businesses in India in cooperation with SWIFT Global Payments Innovation (GPI) and introduced ODeX Pay Later Solutions powered by DBS, a hassle-free credit solution for freight forwarders. DBS Bank India launched DBS Business Class foundED in April of this year in accordance with its aim to help emerging start-ups in India. These partnerships included evangelist network Headstart Network Foundation and startup venture capital firm Anthill Ventures. The bank also disclosed the beginning of a new grant programme to assist SMEs in their transition to more sustainable enterprises.
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with 19 markets. Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney, “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the world’s “Most Innovative in Digital Banking” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for 14 consecutive years from 2009 to 2022. DBS was also ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Best Banks in India for two consecutive years.
