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The Adani Group is focusing on India’s e-commerce and payments sector to compete with Google and Reliance

Posted on by darion

E-commerce

  • ByStartup History | May 29, 2024

Indian multinational conglomerate Adani Group, headed by Asia’s second richest man, Gautam Adani, is looking to enter the e-commerce and payments industry. According to a Financial Times report, the conglomerate is actively seeking to set up a digital business, positioning itself as a competitor to tech giant Google and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.

According to reports, the company is in the process of applying for a license to operate India’s public digital payments network called Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and is in talks with several banks to launch a co-branded Adani credit card. This expansion into digital payments underscores Adani’s strategic move to diversify his conglomerate’s interests towards consumer-centric markets.

In addition to the payments initiative, Adani Group is also negotiating to introduce online shopping through the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed public e-commerce platform that aims to democratize the digital marketplace. The service is expected to be integrated with the Adani One app launched in late 2022, which already offers various travel services.

While established players like Google and Walmart-backed PhonePe dominate the UPI-based payment app market, and domestic giants like Paytm and Tata are engaging in ONDC across grocery and fashion, Adani’s entry could shake up the competitive landscape . The interoperable design of the ONDC network allows companies to engage in e-commerce without having to make significant investments in their own platforms.

The integration of various business units, including recently acquired broadcaster NDTV and joint venture Adani Wilmar, underpins Adani’s consumer-centric strategy. The group also plans to create a team of advisors focusing on key areas such as climate change, energy and politics.

Sources close to the development suggest that Adani’s new digital offering will initially target the conglomerate’s existing customer base. This strategy will leverage internal synergies and provide a basis for expansion into broader markets. “Users can earn loyalty points through bill payments or duty-free shopping and use them to make online purchases,” one source explained, highlighting the potential benefits for existing customers.

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