Tag: COVID-19

Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) organized a virtual seminar on “Credit Guarantee – Benefits & Opportunities to Support Small and Medium (SME) Development” on 16 December 2021, with support from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). The seminar brings together relevant stakeholders including the Government, Development Partners, Financial Institutions, and business representatives to discuss the benefits and opportunities of using credit guarantees to support business survival and expansion.

The extent to which credit guarantees can contribute to restoring the economy depends on the lenders’ and borrowers’ perspectives toward credit guarantees. The seminar, therefore, focuses the discussion on their perspectives toward credit guarantees. All speakers shared a common view that lack of collateral is one of the main challenges for businesses to access formal loans. They agreed that credit guarantees can support banks and Micro-Finance Institution (MFIs) to lend out more to businesses, especially those who lack collateral.

The seminar also digs into stakeholders’ ongoing efforts to improve SME access to finance for the economic re-opening in Cambodia. The Government has introduced many policy interventions to support SME access to finance. In addition, relevant stakeholders have spared​ efforts which include, among others, increasing financial literacy, introducing innovative financial solutions, and upgrading financial sector infrastructure. The panelists demonstrated their commitment to continue supporting SMEs’ access to financial services.

Prominent speakers in this seminar include the President of Federation of Associations of SMEs of Cambodia (FASMEC), Vice President of Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA), President of Young Entrepreneurs Association of Cambodia (YEAC), Chairman of Cambodia Microfinance Association & CEO of AMK Microfinance, CEO of Canadia Bank, Deputy Director General of General Department of Policy of Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Senior Financial Sector Specialist from the ADB, and Senior Regional Technical Advisor from UNCDF, and CGCC’s management. This seminar attracted more than 300 participants from various institutions – Government, development partners, financial institutions, and business communities.

CGCC is a state-owned enterprise under the financial and technical guidance of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. CGCC’s mission is to provide credit guarantees to lenders on loans made to businesses. As of 10 December 2021, CGCC has provided guarantees for 173 loans with a total amount of over USD 20 million.

On 10 December 2021, the 7th Board of Directors Meeting of Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) was organized virtually, in the presence of H.E. Ros Seilava, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the chairman of the CGCC’s Board of Directors, along with the presence of other 6 Board of Directors members.

The agenda of this 7th Board of Directors Meeting included: (1) CGCC progress report, (2) 4th Batch PFI applications, (3) Investment plan, (4) Risk management framework and risk appetite framework, (5) Amendment of credit guarantee system implementation agreement, (6) Procurement plan for 2022 of CGCC, (7) other matters.

CGCC’s Board of Directors Meeting is regularly organized to review, evaluate, and seek recommendations and decisions on CGCC’s activities and progress, especially the credit guarantee schemes of CGCC, in order to ensure transparency and efficiency.

On 06 December 2021, Mr. No Lida, Deputy CEO of CGCC, has attended as a panelist in the workshop on “Access to Finance for SMEs and Women Entrepreneurs-Challenges and Solutions” organized virtually by the Association of Banks in Cambodia (ABC), the Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA), and PACT Cambodia.  

 This workshop aims to engage and build the bridge between stakeholders (banking and financial institutions, small and medium enterprises—SMEs, Women Entrepreneurs, government and development partners) to address the challenges of SMEs and women entrepreneurs in accessing finance and discuss the solutions for this issue. 

Mr. Lida has shared the roles of CGCC and the ongoing practical experiences/perspectives in response to the panel discussion topic on “Promote and raise awareness on how to apply for a loan for business”. The discussion also participated by related financial institutions to share comments, and recommendations for SMEs and women entrepreneurs to expand their understanding of access to finance. 

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CGCC’s CEO, Mr. Wong Keet Loong, on 26 November 2021, attended the Annual Micro Finance Conference 2021 via online, within the topic of Microfinance Sector Resilience and Economic Recovery amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: “Challenges and Opportunities”, and also participated as a panelist in the panel discussion within the topic of “Key Reflection of Covid-19 response and future perspective to accelerate the economic recovery”.   

This event was organized by Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) with participation from related stakeholders such as government institutions, development agencies, especially the financial institutions including banks and Microfinance.  

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Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) and Chamroeun Microfinance conducted a signing ceremony on the credit guarantee agreement on 22 October 2021 to expand supports to Agri-SMEs in Cambodia who lack collateral in accessing formal loans for their businesses with CGCC’s guarantees.

Mr. Wong Keet Loong, Chief Executive Officer of CGCC, expresses a warm welcome to Chamroeun MFI on becoming a Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) of CGCC.

Mr. Wong mentions that: “the collaboration with Chamroeun MFI will enable CGCC to support the Agri- SMEs in rural areas who have difficulty to access formal financing from FIs.  Chamroeun MFI will be able to provide financing to those micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) who do not have sufficient collateral for the loans. With access to financing, we hope that the MSMEs will be able to scale up their livelihood, thus, reducing poverty.”

Mr. Yannick Nicolas MILEV, Chief Executive Officer of Chamroeun MFI, said: “CGCC’s initiatives are key to helping building rural economies and market systems. Agri-SMEs in rural areas often find it difficult to access formal financing as the requirements from financial sector providers often do not match the capacities these Agri-SMEs have. The guarantee schemes allow for this gap to be bridged, and for both players to ultimately better understand each other’s business realities and processes – in turn strengthening financial inclusion for high impact businesses.”

Cambodian Business owners, including SMEs with more than 50% ownership, are encouraged to apply for guaranteed loans with CGCC’s PFIs, including Chamroeun MFI. Please visit Chamroeun MFI’s website for more information: https://www.chamroeun.com/ 

As of 20 October 2021, CGCC has supported more than 105 businesses through credit guarantees on their loan applications, amounting to more than USD 14 million. Also, CGCC has provided the most guarantees to SMEs, which is accounted for 94% of the total businesses receiving the credit guarantees from CGCC.

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