OSMEP allocates over 2 billion baht to "boost capital, restore, and expand new markets" for SMEs, particularly those affected by floods and border problems, offering low-interest loans to revive businesses.
On 5 January 2026 at the Government House, Dr. Panita Chinawatra, Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), announced at the press conference "OSMEP Presents New Year Gifts to Thai SMEs 2026" that OSMEP is implementing government policies to help SMEs succeed in their businesses. For the new year 2026, OSMEP has prepared urgent measures to assist SMEs affected by economic conditions and immediate crises, including floods in the southern region and the Thai-Cambodia border situation, as well as enhancing SME capabilities nationwide, with a total budget of 2.15 billion baht as a New Year gift to welcome 2026.
In 2025, Thai SMEs faced multiple pressures, including competition from imported goods, global economic volatility, technological changes, climate conditions, and demographic shifts. Especially in the last quarter, floods in nine southern provinces and the Thai-Cambodia border issues had widespread impacts on SMEs.
Currently, Thailand has 3.26 million SMEs, accounting for 99.5% of all enterprises, providing employment to over 13.4 million people, nearly 70% of total employment. In the first three quarters of 2025, SMEs generated an economic value (SME GDP) exceeding 4.45 trillion baht, representing 34.8% of the country’s GDP.
Regarding regional impacts, the southern floods affected more than 280,000 SMEs and over 910,000 jobs, while the Thai-Cambodia border situation impacted nearly 280,000 SMEs across seven provinces linked to cross-border trade valued at over 517 million US dollars.
Dr. Panita also stated that, under these circumstances, OSMEP has prepared three main measures as New Year gifts for SMEs, as follows:
1. Recovery measures for those affected by floods and border problems.
This focuses on creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to efficiently restore their businesses through the “SME Pang Tang Dai Kuen” project or the promotion of entrepreneurs via the Business Development Service (BDS) system. It subsidizes business development service fees for SMEs on a co-payment basis at a special rate of 50%, increasing the maximum support from the usual 200,000 baht per business to up to 500,000 baht per business. OSMEP has also partnered with SME D Bank to provide entrepreneurs access to low-interest loans for recovery and repair from flood damage and to promote business expansion, with loans up to 1 million baht per business, totaling over 200 million baht in budget.
2. Capital measures to strengthen SMEs.
OSMEP aims to enhance entrepreneurs’ capabilities to adapt their businesses to global conditions by preparing low-interest loans totaling 1.2 billion baht for three business groups: 1) Transformation Fund focuses on upgrading businesses to keep pace with global technological changes, with loans of about 10 million baht per business; 2) Enhancement Fund targets expanding the capacity of businesses ready to grow and compete globally, such as digital businesses, healthcare services, intelligent robotics, and creative industries, with loans between 10 and 15 million baht per business; and 3) Tourism & Related Fund emphasizes liquidity support for tourism-related businesses, with loans of about 2 million baht per business.
This measure provides loans at a low interest rate of only 1% per year, with a one-year principal grace period and repayment terms up to five years.
3. Marketing measures to open doors to new markets.
Through the “Thai SMEs New Opportunity Gateways” project with a budget of 600 million baht, this supports channels for expanding into new foreign markets while helping Thai businesses compete globally and create opportunities for entrepreneurs simultaneously. This includes business matchmaking, roadshows, and participation in overseas trade shows to collaboratively build the Thailand brand’s recognition, subsidizing up to 80% of expenses, expected to generate significant value.
"All these measures are presented by OSMEP as New Year gifts to Thai SMEs, expected to assist more than 15,000 affected and general SMEs to recover from crises, improve liquidity, enhance competitiveness, and expand into new markets, creating economic value exceeding 10 billion baht and serving as a key driver for Thailand’s economy in 2026," Dr. Panita concluded. The Acting Director of OSMEP emphasized this point.