Bangkok: The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCGC) has announced its goal to transform into a "comprehensive financial center," focusing on enhancing human resource development and facilitating small and medium-sized enterprises' (SMEs) access to funding opportunities.
According to Thai News Agency, Dr. Sittikorn Direksuntorn, Director and General Manager of the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Corporation (SMEG), has outlined policy and operational guidelines for the Channel Management and Entrepreneur Development Division. This division includes the Branch Affairs Department and the Customer Promotion and Entrepreneur Development Department. The goal is to develop the division into a comprehensive financial support center for SMEs, offering services such as loan access consultation, debt resolution, and financial literacy education. This move aligns with SMEG's vision of serving as the primary guarantor mechanism that connects capital and opportunities for SMEs.
The initiative aims to address financial inequality among SMEs by leveraging the mechanisms of TCGC to ensure fair and widespread access to credit for SMEs, a concept referred to as Financial Inclusion. This effort is facilitated by 11 regional offices nationwide, which have been upgraded to SME Financial Advisory Centers (TCG FA Centers). These centers act as intermediaries, connecting SMEs with financial institutions and non-bank entities in each region through a Digital Lending platform. Applications are filtered using the "TCG Score," a tool developed from 34 years of credit guarantee data, before being forwarded to suitable financial institutions, thereby expanding SMEs' credit access opportunities.
Additionally, the initiative seeks to improve the skills of personnel in channel management and entrepreneur development by enhancing their financial literacy. This will empower them to better guide SMEs in accessing funding and offering a broader array of credit guarantee products from TCGC. Part of the initiative also includes providing debt restructuring advice to borrowers, aiding SMEs in achieving sustainable debt relief and resuming business operations. Moreover, TCGC regional office personnel are being trained to become "Financial Advisors" through instruction from the "TCGC Debt Doctor" team and external experts. The training encompasses both theoretical and practical aspects of loan analysis, approval, debt resolution, and real-world case analysis, preparing them for the Financial Advisor certification exam and improving their capacity to support SMEs.