Crowdfunding at Money Expo 2026: Broadening Access to Funding and Investment Opportunities
At Money Expo 2026, held at IMPACT Challenger Hall 1–2, the booth of the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), under the theme “The Mission Against Investment Scams,” hosted a Fireside Chat titled “Crowdfunding: An Alternative for Small Businesses and Investors.” The session highlighted the growing role of crowdfunding in Thailand’s evolving digital capital market.
Mr. Thawee Poonlapmongkol, Chief Executive Officer of Siam Validus Capital, shared his views on investment opportunities in crowdfunding debentures. He explained that, in an environment where deposit rates remain relatively low, crowdfunding platforms provide investors with an alternative opportunity to access potentially higher returns and generate income more quickly. At the same time, investors are able to support the real economy directly by providing funding to SMEs with working capital needs.
Investors should carefully consider the risks involved in crowdfunding debentures. These include the issuer’s ability to repay and the limited liquidity of such investments, as debentures are generally not transferable before maturity. At the same time, the “Funding Gap” faced by Thai SMEs remains an important issue in today’s economy, particularly as financial institutions continue to be cautious in their lending. As a result, many SMEs are increasingly looking for alternative funding sources outside the traditional banking system.
For investment planning, investors are encouraged to diversify their portfolios rather than concentrating funds in a single debenture. Spreading investments across multiple offerings with different risk levels can help reduce potential risks if certain investments do not perform as expected. In addition, Funding Portals play an important role beyond simply connecting investors and businesses. Their responsibilities also include screening businesses, monitoring issuers, and providing transparent information to support informed investment decisions.
Siam Validus Capital, a joint venture between SCG Distribution and Validus Investment Holding in Singapore, maintains a strict SME selection process by focusing exclusively on businesses within the SCG ecosystem, including vendors and dealers. This helps reinforce the quality and credibility of fundraising applicants on the platform.
Leveraging this ecosystem, the company is also able to use supply chain transaction data — such as Purchase Orders and Invoices — as part of its credit assessment process. This helps reduce risks related to document fraud and duplicate financing requests, while increasing confidence that the transactions being funded are genuine and verifiable.
Although crowdfunding remains relatively small compared to the broader financial system, the discussion reflected growing interest in this alternative financing model. Crowdfunding is increasingly seen as another important channel for supporting SME liquidity while also expanding investment opportunities for investors in a rapidly changing economic environment.
Towards the end of the discussion, Mr. Thawee Poonlapmongkol shared that if SMEs continue to face limited access to funding, overall economic growth may also be affected. He added that crowdfunding is likely to serve as an additional funding option alongside the traditional lending system, rather than replacing it, in the future development of Thailand’s capital market.
In closing, the Thailand SEC emphasized the importance of staying alert to investment scams and encouraged investors to use only properly licensed crowdfunding platform providers. Investors can also verify service providers through the “SEC Check First” application before making any investment decisions.
