The aim of this work is to show the relevance of guarantees provided by the Mutual Credit Guarantee System (MCGS - the Portuguese Society of Credit Guarantee SPGM) as an instrument used in the financing of SMEs, especially in restructuring long-term debt (LTD) and bank loans. The study provides empirical evidence and puts forward an explanatory model of the influence of the mutual credit guarantees on the financing of SMEs. The results obtained show that long-term debt (LTD) financing is positively influenced by the guarantees provided by the MCGS to SMEs as it allows greater debt capacity, especially in the medium and long term, for firms that usually cannot obtain this type of financing. The results also suggest that this type of guarantees creates an environment of confidence among all stakeholders involved.

Combining Data Storytelling concepts and Artificial Intelligence algorithms presents a powerful alliance for the analysis and communication of complex data, in a more intuitive environment and with higher levels of engagement. The main goal was to understand and present the potential of combining these two areas, where sentiment analysis was the method considered to represent Artificial Intelligence. The considered methodology consists, in a first phase of literary review, followed by sentiment analysis. The findings of this research culminate in the development of the definition of Data Storytelling, its potential, and its relationship with Artificial Intelligence systems, presenting a Dashboard Data Storytelling incorporated with AI.