CSCs led by village level entrepreneurs is a decade old win-win-win model delivering essential G2C and B2C services to rural citizens in India

Since more than a decade, Common Service Centres or CSCs in rural India have been delivering a range of G2C and B2C services under the National e-Governance Plan of the Government of India. CSCs are owned and operated by Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) who invests in setting up the centers assisted by the Government and takes the lead in running and sustaining the venture. It has been a win-win-win model for the citizens, the rural entrepreneurs and the Government.

Aligned with the Digital India vision, last year the GOI launched rural e-commerce operations by digitalizing CSCs and leveraging its expansive network of 0.5 million active VLEs

In April 2020, the Government of India began testing the concept of CSC Grameen e-stores with an aim to deliver essential commodities to rural consumers amidst the COVID19 crisis through digital ordering. Over the last one year 120,000 CSCs have registered as Grameen e-stores and ready to serve 15,000+ PIN code areas in the country. The social capital of a large network of digitally trained village level entrepreneurs and common service centers developed over a decade has been the key success factor for an accelerated rate of digitalization adoption.

To realize this, the program has developed customized smartphone applications catering the needs of four local key value chain actors

CSC Grameen e-stores are helping multinational and local brands connect with rural consumers in India. To make this happen, VLEs procure products from local distributors and deliver them to the consumers through rural delivery agents. The consumers can digitally order products from the CSCs using the e-store app, and the VLEs can manage these orders through a dedicated VLE app. Delivery cadets who are responsible for last mile delivery of the products can track routes and connect with the consumer through eStore Delivery App. Additionally, an application specially designed for the Distributors has also been launched which acts as a bridge between the brands and the VLEs with the better communication capabilities.

Private Sector organizations are teaming up on this initiative through strategic partnerships, which will be key to upscale and sustain the coming days 

In the last one year, CSC Grameen e-stores have been endorsed by multiple private sector partnerships providing a stamp of credibility. For example, in December 2020 Tata Digital invested INR 10 crores (USD 1.3 million) for an undisclosed stake in Grameen eStore securing a seat on the board. Competitors PepsiCo and Coca-Cola both have decided to list its products on the Grameen estore app with a strategic vision to market its products to rural consumers. Interestingly, many automobile players like Renault, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto have also shown interest to leverage the online platform to book orders from rural consumers, cut down their trips to showrooms and get the vehicle delivered at doorstep.

Keeping a close eye on on-the-ground implementation and impact in the lives of rural consumers is recommended on the agenda in the coming days

Grameen eStores have tapped into the latent demand of rural e-commerce services and have witnessed positive results. In the coming days, the organization needs to take an iterative approach – keep a close eye on the purchase behaviour, demand, feedback on the services and iron out specific areas. To create a more inclusive impact, there is need to intervene with awareness and training for village level enterprises, farmer producer groups and SHGs so that they can reap the benefits of marketing their products to a larger base of consumers.