Thailand launches phase two of Thai Help Thai Plus to support small merchants

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanprapas has announced the second phase of the ‘Thai Help Thai Plus’ 60/40 project. The initiative aims to mitigate the rising cost of living driven by Middle East energy crises and to support small-scale merchants facing reduced purchasing power.

The program limits daily spending to 200 baht to focus on essential daily expenses rather than luxury consumption. Over the past three months, approximately 26 million citizens and 1.2 million small retailers have participated, injecting over 160 billion baht into the economy. Notably, only 16% of participating shops are located in Bangkok, indicating widespread distribution to provincial areas.

Beyond financial aid, the ‘Plus’ component focuses on digital transformation. The government is providing small merchants with access to food delivery platforms, online sales training, and AI-driven business tools via the ‘Thung Ngern’ application. These tools help analyze sales trends and ingredient costs to improve business planning. Additionally, the program facilitates access to credit by providing banks with verifiable income data, supported by the Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation to assist those without traditional collateral.