PHNOM PENH: The Credit Guarantee Corporation of Cambodia (CGCC) has provided credit guarantees of US$170 million as of January this year to 1,977 businesses as their working capital for expansion.

In a factsheet issued on Feb. 20, CGCC said as of January 2024, the outstanding guaranteed loan was US$119 million while the outstanding guaranteed amount was US$85.8 million.

There are 1,854 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and 154 large businesses in Cambodia, the report said, adding that 833 of businesses were women-owned.

The CGCC scheme involves 27 participating financial institutions (PFIs) to extend credit as working capital investment and business expansion to SMEs.

Established in November 2020 with a state budget of US$200 million, the CGCC is the preferred credit guarantee institution in Cambodia set up to improve financial inclusion and develop the growth of SMEs.

Smooth loan distribution has boosted entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, said H.E. Mey Vann, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“The CGCC has played a key role in serving the needs of SMEs in Cambodia, which are struggling in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation crisis, and need credits from banks for their businesses,” H.E. Mey Vann said.