Thailand is using artificial intelligence to improve the productivity of small businesses and potentially widen their access to credit, positioning digital tools as part of its strategy to turn technology investment into domestic employment.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said almost one million small merchants were using the government’s Nokrasip AI assistant to manage stock, calculate profits and understand their businesses.
Speaking at the 2026 World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Ekniti said the application is embedded in mobile-wallet services that merchants already use to access government subsidies.
The system is designed to help small businesses move beyond immediate financial support towards more efficient operations and expansion.
Nokrasip enables merchants to monitor sales, identify busy trading periods, compare performance with nearby shops and track money coming in and going out. The programme’s promotional presentation also described tools for generating financial statements for loan applications and credit guarantees.
That capability could address a longstanding obstacle for smaller businesses: the difficulty of demonstrating financial performance to lenders when they lack collateral or a formal credit history.
Ekniti said merchants’ transaction data could, with their consent, help banks better understand their businesses. The transcript does not specify the lending volumes generated through the programme or the number of merchants who have secured credit as a result.
The initiative illustrates how governments can use existing digital platforms to distribute AI services without requiring small businesses to adopt entirely new systems.
Thailand has framed its approach around three priorities: using AI to improve existing jobs, building capabilities for new employment and ensuring that the benefits reach people across the economy.
The government is also seeking to connect major technology investments to local employment. Ekniti said Thailand was attracting investment in data centres, semiconductors, cloud services and advanced electronics, but argued that infrastructure spending alone would not guarantee jobs for Thai workers.
Through its Skill Bridge programmes, the government is working with investors and educational institutions to match training with companies’ workforce requirements.
The government also wants to reduce the cost of AI computing, including the cost of tokens, so that startups, small and medium-sized enterprises and universities can develop and use applications rather than leaving the technology primarily to large corporations.
The strategy reflects concerns raised during the meetings that AI-driven growth could concentrate economic gains among a small number of companies and highly skilled workers.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said private capital generates between 75% and 85% of jobs in an economy, while governments provide the infrastructure, policies and conditions that enable investment.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said AI was already generating investment demand through data-centre construction and related infrastructure, contributing to global economic growth of about 3% despite an energy supply shock.
For Thailand, the challenge is to convert those investment flows into productivity gains for domestic businesses and opportunities for workers.
The government has also identified online scams and deepfakes as risks that require responsible AI governance and international cooperation.
The success of its small-business strategy will therefore depend not only on adoption figures, but also on whether improved business information translates into stronger productivity, financing opportunities and sustainable job creation.
