On 03 April 2023, CGCC organized the first Annual Town Hall meeting, a gathering of all CGCC staff to report on progress and milestones to the Executive Committee (Exco) of CGCC as well as sharing with the staff on the previous year’s and the first quarter of 2023 progress, especially on the strategy and action plan of each respective departments in 2023.
CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”
This town hall meeting is not only for sharing the progress report and plans from all departments, but also for a dialogue platform to openly discussion and obtain recommendations from management on the direction of CGCC’s operations and vision in improving financial inclusion and develop SMEs in Cambodia.
Within the 2 years of operation, CGCC is strongly supported by the Royal Government, and under the direct guidance from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). CGCC operates with the strong leadership of management, who has extensive experiences in banking and financial sector. As such, CGCC has grown steadily, and as of the end of the first quarter of 2023, the CGCC has more than 40 employees working in solidarity and same goal to achieve the vision of the company.
CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”CGCC Town Hall Meeting 2023 on “Milestones and Strategy Plan”
On March 31, 2023, the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) organized a semanar on “Guaranteed Loans to Support the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises” in Svay Rieng Province in collaboration with Svay Rieng Chamber of Commerce with more than 50 participants from Management and staff of participating financial institutions (PFIs) and small and medium business owners in Svay Rieng. The seminar was also presided over by Mr. Sok Rado, President of Svay Rieng Provincial Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. No Lida, Deputy CEO of CGCC.
Dissemination Seminar on “Guaranteed Loans to Support the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises” in Svay Rieng Province
Through this seminar, small and medium business owners are informed about the benefits of guaranteed loans through CGCC’s participating financial institutions in response to the lack of collateral when applying for a loan to expand and rehabilitate their businesses.
Dissemination Seminar on “Guaranteed Loans to Support the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises” in Svay Rieng Province
From 28 March to 30 March 2023, CGCC team led by Mr. No Lida, Deputy CEO of CGCC, visited provincial branches of selected participating financial institutions (PFIs) to discuss with the management and staff of the selected PFIs the implementation of CGCC’s credit guarantee schemes. The selected PFIs in 3 provinces including:
Kandal province: Sathapana Bank, Acleda Bank and Maybank;
Prey Veng province: ABA Bank, Canadia Bank, LOLC Microfinance Institution and Sathapana Bank
Svay Rieng Province: LOLC Microfinance Institution, ABA Bank and Sathapna Bank.
CGCC visits PFIs provincial branches in Kandal, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng, to Enhance Collaboration on the Credit Guarantee
The discussions with CGCC PFIs’ provincial branches in these 3 potential provinces provided opportunities for both CGCC and PFIs to enhance mutual understanding of credit guarantees and opportunities for PFIs to increase lending to borrowers that lack collateral when requesting loans.
Through these face-to-face discussions with more than hundreds of PFIs’ provincial managements and staffs, CGCC had such a great opportunity to learn directly about the implementation of credit guarantees by these selected PFIs provincial branches as well as their comments and feedback on CGCC’s credit guarantee schemes. CGCC and PFIs will continue to strengthen cooperation in providing guaranteed loans to business owners.
CGCC visits PFIs provincial branches in Kandal, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng, to Enhance Collaboration on the Credit Guarantee
The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) provided credit guarantees of $105 million as of February to businesses as their working capital for expansion.
In a factsheet issued on March 10, CGCC said that as of the end of February it has supported 1,155 businesses by providing credit guarantees for their loan applications, amounting to $104.9 million.
Large portions of the loan guarantee were used as working capital and other purposes of investment or business expansion, and capital expenditure, the report mentioned. As of January 2023, the outstanding guaranteed loan was $81.6 million while the outstanding guaranteed amount was $58.8 million.
Various credit guarantee schemes have played a crucial role in strengthening entrepreneurship and enhancing financial inclusion in Cambodia, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, through the smooth disbursal of loans, CGCC said.
The CGCC has come up with three guarantee schemes so far — the Business Recovery Guarantee Scheme (BRGS) launched in March 2022, the Co-Financing Guarantee Scheme (CFGS) unveiled in September 2021 and the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme launched in April 2022, besides the extension of the CFGS to tourism. The CGCC of the Ministry of Economy and Finance has extended the BRGS from January 1, 2023, until the $200-million scheme is fully utilised.
Updating some scheme features, including the scheme period, the definition of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and large firms, and the maximum loan amount for each guarantee are on the extension of BRGS.
BRGS aims to support businesses, including MSMEs and firms, to enhance their access to formal loans from Participating Financial Institutions for working capital, investment, and business expansion.
On 01 March 2023, CGCC’s team led by Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC, is honored to witness and attend the Graduation Ceremony of 129 trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” program, initiated by Sathapana Bank, co-supported by CGCC to improve financial literacy for entrepreneurs’ business development and Cambodia’s economy.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
In September 2022, IFL was launched in partnership with likeminded partners such as Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC), and 2 more partners. The program was aimed to promote and improve financial literacy for women entrepreneurs in SMEs and MSMEs by providing networking opportunities and training sessions in areas like project management, financial management, marketing, sales, and more.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
Through this program, CGCC is delighted to contribute to creating a community classroom where SMEs and MSMEs could come together to learn and networking, also sharing the best practice/experiences for capacity building and accelerated the long-term entrepreneurship conceptual & practical.
Graduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” ProgramGraduation Ceremony of 129 Trainees of the “I’m Financially Literate (IFL)” Program
In the afternoon of February 28, 2023, CGCC, led by Mr. Wong Keet Loong, welcomed the delegation of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos for the study visit to understand Cambodia’s credit guarantee system in order to further develop the credit guarantee system for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Laos.
The Delegation of The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos to Study Visit to Understand CGCC’s Credit Guarantee
CGCC is honored to share the good experience and success of the credit guarantee with the delegation from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos for the development of the credit guarantee system in Laos.
The Delegation of The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos to Study Visit to Understand CGCC’s Credit GuaranteeThe Delegation of The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Laos to Study Visit to Understand CGCC’s Credit Guarantee
On 27 February 2023, Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC participated as a panelist in the panel discussion on “Intervention programs of related stakeholders in promoting and developing women entrepreneurship” in the seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs: Expanding Opportunity for Women Entrepreneurs in Digital Economy and Society”, organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs, with more than 100 participants from Ministry and Provincial Departments of Women Affairs, related ministries, private sectors, and development partners.
CGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women Affairs
This seminar is organized to promote the focus on women entrepreneurs in business development in the digital era and review the mechanisms of relevant institutions to support women entrepreneurs more effectively.
During the Panel Discussion, CGCC’s CEO shared with audiences about CGCC’s credit guarantee scheme for women entrepreneurs, as well as the positive trend of providing credit guarantee to women entrepreneurs. He also highlighted CGCC’s additional support mechanisms for increasing credit guarantees, as well as supporting access to finance for women entrepreneurs in response to capital requirements and other skills, especially digital skills for business development through various training collaborating with partner banks/microfinance institutions.
CGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women AffairsCGCC in the Seminar on “Women Entrepreneurs in MSMEs” of Ministry of Women Affairs
The 11th Give a Day has featured the Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia as its keynote as well as enabled Cambodia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to connect at the new Khmer Enterprise Headquarters for the first time in 2023.
Khmer Enterprise CEO Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin delivered the welcoming remarks highlighting the ongoing progression of the initiative which was first piloted in 2021 before receiving its full funding for monthly and quarterly meetings in 2022 and has now been renewed for 2023.
“The Give a Day monthly meetings and quarterly ecosystem builder events have been greatly welcomed by Cambodia’s entrepreneurial community – and have provided both learnings and networking opportunities between various sectors,” he told over 50 attendees from the ecosystem at KE headquarters.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentSabine Joukes Pact Cambodia Country Director and WE Act Chief of Party, Khmer Enterprise CEO Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, Rajiv Pradhan Country Director at Swisscontact in Cambodia.
“We also wanted to welcome everyone to our new headquarters at the Business Development Center in Chroy Changvar, Phnom Penh, and advise that our open working space is available to everyone in the ecosystem as well as both our meetings’ rooms and event space,” he added.
Rajiv Pradhan Country Director at Swisscontact in Cambodia and Sabine Joukes Pact Cambodia Country Director and WE Act Chief of Party echoed this statement adding it was fantastic to reconnect the ecosystem for the first time in 2023.
Increase credit guarantee issuance by 50% in 2023
Delivering the keynote CGCC CEO, Wong Keet Loong commented the scheme was looking to increase the number of transactions it underwrites by 50% in 2023 as the organization looks to increase its outreach to the country’s micro and small and medium businesses, (MSMEs).
CGCC received its sub-decree on September 2020 and was fully incorporated in November 2020 its guarantees are intended to expand the availability of credit to smaller enterprises that may not have the collateral which banks typically require to advance working capital loans.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentConversations after the keynote presentation.
Initially launched as a tool to close the credit gap that emerged between small businesses during the pandemic, the CGCC issued its first guarantee in April 2021 and has since given a total of 985 Letters of Guarantee (LG) for loans worth $92.7. Mr Loong said that the CGCC had even more ambitious targets for 2023.
“My biggest goal for this year is to increase the outreach of our guarantees. The CGCC wants to provide guarantees to 1500 SMEs this year. We want to guarantee $100 million of loans in 2023. I know that is optimistic but I believe it can be done,” he said in response to a question from Cambodia Investment Review.
Rising interest rates may impact growth
Mr Loong said that the main barrier to reaching this target was the global macro picture, particularly the impact of rising US interest rates.
“The main issue right now is that external factors are affecting the cost of funding, which is going up as US interest rates rise and this is affecting a number of financial institutions (FIs). They see that fixed deposit rates are going crazy which is good for depositors, but not FIs and this impacts their lending,” he added.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentAttendees at the 11th Give a Day.
Global factors may act as a drag on the CGCC’s work in the near term, but fellow speaker H.E. Dr. Chhieng Vanmunin, CEO of Khmer Enterprise, said that if credit guarantees become more widely used in Cambodia it would make it much easier for firms to do business internationally.
“In their current state, a lot of Cambodian companies are unable to demonstrate a track record of success, however, if they run through the credit guarantee program with CGCC it provides a history of how well they managed issues such as shipping and cash flow.
So this is one of the things that we support them to expand their market internationally,” he said.
40% of its guarantees go to female-owned businesses
The CGCC currently offers four different guarantee products and in April last year, it launched it’s third the Women Entrepreneurs Guarantee Scheme (WEGS), a $50m capped fund that is aimed at supporting women and female-owned businesses.
According to the CGCC’s data up to 40% of its guarantees go to female-owned businesses, whereas Mr Loong said that up to 65% of Cambodian MSMEs were run by women. An audience member, who didn’t identify herself, suggested that this gap was partly due to issues over lack of financial knowledge.
“One reason is that we know most women entrepreneur’s businesses are not registered and one way to improve that is via financial literacy, and this will have many benefits. If financial literacy is growing then entrepreneurs are more confident, more informed, and able to negotiate good loans,” she said.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentQuestions and answer session.
Mr Loong responded that the CGCC did support unregistered businesses, for the first year at least and that expanding awareness of credit guarantees should in turn increase the number of registrations by female business owners.
“However, we tell customers that you need to be registered after a year, because when the anniversary comes, if you’re not registered, then we charge you an additional 0.5%. So, in a way, it incentivizes businesses to be registered. But when they come on board, they can be unregistered,” he said.
The Give a Day program returns in 2023
Give a Day is an initiative within the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building Project (EEB) which is jointly funded by Khmer Enterprise, USAID’s WE Act Project through Pact Cambodia and Swisscontact.
In addition, to monthly meetings, the initiative also included a quarterly Ecosystem Builders Network (EBN) event that focused on mapping the six pillars of Isenberg’s Model of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.
Give a Day: Credit Guarantee Schemes & Its role in Enterprise DevelopmentThe 11th Give a Day program at Khmer Enterprise Head Office on February 10, 2023.
The quarterly meetings created a space through which ecosystem builders and government agencies can share information, foster best practices, identify market gaps and opportunities, and explore collaboration or complementarity to strengthen the ecosystem.
Cambodia’s ESO ecosystem, broadly defined as groups that support, train, and fund entrepreneurs is still in the nascent stage with many new organizations launched to help nature and develop the sector.
CGCC is honored to donate the water treatment system to Koh Sdach High School on 05 February 2023, led by Mr. Wong Keet Loong, CEO of CGCC, and presided over by Mr. Say Heng, Chief of Koh Sdach Commune, Mr. Rov Ratanaksambath, Chairman of the School Management Committee, Mr. Phok Hoeun, Principal of Koh Sdach High School, and participated by students of Koh Sdach High School and the parents of the students, in total about 200 participants.
CGCC’s CSR Event – Donating Water Treatment System to Koh Sdach High School
The donation of this water treatment system from CGCC will enable students and the community to have clean drinking water. This system can supply drinking water for the entire island. This would save cost for the community and improve their livelihood and hygiene as well as maintain a clean environment on the island.
During this CSR event, Mr. No Lida, Deputy CEO of CGCC, led the CGCC’s team on 4 February 2023 to pay a coutesy visit to the Chief of Koh Sdach Commune and Koh Sdach High School’s Principal, and to collect waste around the island for a cleaner environment with participation from students of Koh Sdach high school.
CGCC’s CSR Event – Donating Water Treatment System to Koh Sdach High School
CGCC is very pleased and highly appreciates the administration and the people of Koh Sdach for their support and assistance in making CGCC’s CSR mission completed successfully.
CGCC’s CSR Event – Donating Water Treatment System to Koh Sdach High School
“I’m Financially Literate” training program was concluded last weekend on 28 and 29 January 2023. This program was successfully launched by Sathapana Bank, in partnership with Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC), Khmer Enterprise, and Manulife Cambodia, aiming to promote and improve financial literacy for women entrepreneurs and business owners.
CGCC Supports the Accelerating SMEs’ Financial Literacy through the “I’m Financially Literate Program” 5th Cohort
CGCC and other partners have the great honor to support this training program in enabling and championing women in Business in Cambodia as well as providing the development in technical, soft, and entrepreneurial skills including project management, operation handling, financial management, marketing, and sales. As a result, 30 SMEs and business owners attended the 5th cohort and shared their experiences and related financial issues.
CGCC Supports the Accelerating SMEs’ Financial Literacy through the “I’m Financially Literate Program” 5th Cohort
