DBS Bank India partners with eSamudaay to propel local commerce in small towns through ONDC  

Mumbai, February 22, 2023 - In line with its vision to support Indian MSMEs, DBS Bank India announced its partnership with eSamudaay today. eSamudaay (a SAAS-based solutions provider, owned and operated by Nirmund Digital Distributions Private Limited), focuses on non-metro towns and cities, providing digital solutions on both the buyer and seller side and logistic support to make doing business on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) convenient for smaller players in the market. With this partnership, DBS Bank India aims to meet the needs of SMEs and MSMEs while conducting business through ONDC and expanding its digital solutions beyond traditional banking.
 
Under this alliance, which was finalized on Republic Day (January 26, 2023), DBS Bank India will gain deeper insights into the end users’ requirements and can offer them customised solutions. Focusing on a more inclusive offering, the Bank will leverage its robust, globally-renowned digital capabilities and go beyond traditional banking to offer bundled and bespoke cash management solutions to cater to the diverse needs of SMEs and MSMEs - such as efficiently managing collections, payments, payroll, liquidity management, and financial products. As eSamudaay’s financial partner, DBS Bank India will pilot their solutions in a few South Indian cities such as Udupi, Thanjavur, Mangalore and Mysore, with a long-term plan to cover 24 cities across India, managing end-to-end flows of the entire supply chain in those cities.
 
Divyesh Dalal, Managing Director & Head - Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank India, said " Our endeavour has always been to enable our customers to drive efficiency and growth through customer-focused, digital solutions. This partnership furthers our commitment to empowering MSMEs, especially those beyond metro and tier-1 markets. We are excited to partner with eSamudaay, who share our ethos of enabling businesses to grow through innovation. We look forward to offering our customised financial solutions to local businesses and contributing towards the growth of India's burgeoning e-commerce market." 
 
Expressing confidence at what could become a unique growth model for India and other countries, Anup Pai, co-founder and CEO of eSamudaay said, “Our team is happy to partner with a global bank that has taken a futuristic stand on decentralisation as a means to spread wealth, as well as provide the financial resources to individuals and communities to expand their business. We have created a digital solution for decentralised, inclusive economic growth and believe that in DBS Bank India, we have found the right partner to offer a slew of financial products for local commerce to thrive.” 
 
DBS believes in delivering a banking experience that is safe, transparent and hassle-free. Recently DBS Bank India partnered with Gofrugal Technologies to help SMEs catalogue their products quickly and expand their sales channels via ONDC. Earlier, DBS Bank India launched a first-of-its-kind digital and paperless trade financing solution for freight forwarders that leverages Electronic Way (eWay) bill verification for digitalising and simplifying trade transactions.
 
eSamudaay works with various stakeholders, including local associations, the chamber of commerce, and financial institutions, to digitalise local trade. This new-age technology company helps businesses become self-reliant and compete with larger organisations. The Open Network ensures that potentially every seller gets enhanced discovery opportunities, not to mention the possibility of trading overseas as the model develops.
 
DBS Bank India leverages the power of ecosystems and technology to help clients connect across the value chain and provide enabling solutions that drive efficiency and synergies for growth. Furthering its goal of financial inclusion and digital penetration in the country, DBS Bank India offers an online credit solutions platform, "DBS Digital Business Loans," which ensures easy access to business credit for the entire spectrum of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, offering up to Rs 20 crore in credit. 
 
As per data from the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, as of 25th November 2022, the Udyam Registration portal registered 12,201,448 MSMEs. Indian MSMEs are rapidly adopting digital payments over cash, with 72% of payments done through the digital mode compared with 28% of cash transactions. The rise in digital adoption presents prospects for further growth in the sector.