SMEs play a significant role in Thailand’s economy. In 2024, there were approximately 3.25 million SMEs, accounting for 99.5% of all enterprises, with the majority being micro enterprises. These SMEs are primarily engaged in the wholesale, retail, and service sectors. Moreover, SMEs play a crucial role in economic growth as they are key contributors to employment, accounting for 68.81% of total employment at the end of 2024, and the country's economic growth making up around 35.20% of Thailand’s GDP in 2023.
Despite their economic significance, SMEs faced challenges in obtaining financing. Outstanding SME loans from commercial banks declined by 3.11% year-on-year to THB 3.08 trillion at the end of 2024, reflecting banks’ cautious lending amid rising credit risks and structural weaknesses due to the uneven economic recovery after COVID-19. The gross NPL ratio for SMEs improved marginally to 7.17%, supported by banks’ debt assistance and better repayment capacity among some recovering groups.
SME barriers to financing are due to (i) limited competitiveness and readiness to adapt to global trends (ii) insufficient financial records for evaluating credit risk and repayment capability, such as inadequate bank statement history (iii) high credit risk and a lack of, or insufficient, collateral and (iv) the relatively small size of loan requests which do not cover the costs of credit risk assessment and monitoring by bank.
To address these constraints faced by SMEs, a range of policy measures have been introduced to (1) strengthen SMEs by providing liquidity and debt solutions, as well as (2) enhance credit access through the development of tailored financial services. On debt solutions, the Thai government and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) are placing stronger emphasis on long-term debt relief to reduce burdens and enable more resilient, sustainable growth. This includes comprehensive debt restructuring programs, personalized advisory services like “Doctor Debt,” and campaigns promoting responsible borrowing and early intervention.
Moreover, in response to the rapid growth of digital finance, the BOT, in collaboration with relevant agencies, has launched a digital strategy by leveraging technology and data to improve financial inclusion. Central to this initiative are three strategic pillars, known as the "Three Opens" - Open data, Open infrastructure, and Open competition. A key innovation in the Open data pillar is the Your Data Project, which enables SMEs to securely share financial and behavioural data with lenders, improving credit assessments for those lacking traditional records. Under the Open infrastructure pillar, the BOT and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) planned to strengthen the existing credit guarantee system of Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) through the establishment of National Credit Guarantee Agency (NaCGA). Planned improvements include (1) the adjustment of a guaranteed fee to be based on each borrower's risk profile. This can be done by improving risk assessment capability through better access to data and (2) expansion of eligible financing products to include non-bank loans and bond instruments. These reforms aim to increase lenders’ willingness to lend and broaden financing options for SMEs, especially those with insufficient or no collateral. Lastly, under the Open competition pillar, in addition to earlier efforts of promoting tailored financial services such as nano-finance, pico-finance, and digital personal loans, which lay the foundation of using alternative data to assess creditworthiness for unserved groups, the introduction of virtual banks is expected to transform SME financing by enabling more agile, tech-driven financial services that extensively utilize both financial and alternative data to better meet the evolving needs of small businesses.