Sahaj e-Village, an associate company of Srei Infrastructure, is planning to explore the e-commerce segment to cater to rural areas. It is currently in talks with several e-tailers in this regard, said Sahaj CEO Sanjay Panigrahi.
“We are looking at the e-commerce model and are in talks with the major players. The viable business model has to be worked out,” he said.
Sahaj is already delivering various digital services to rural people through its 6,344 IT-backed common service centres (CSC) across West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
However, whether the business model would involve using the CSCs as “pick-up points” for e-tailers is yet to be decided upon.
The company has already initiated an e-commerce venture in Tamil Nadu by tying up with mVikarsha.
Sahaj was also working towards financial inclusion with 696 of its CSCs acting as business correspondents (BCs) for banks.
These BCs carry out an average daily transaction of around ₹46 lakh, the company said. About 3,69,000 accounts have been opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
“As new products from the banks come in and the scope of the model expands, we hope it to turn profitable,” Panigrahi added.