Residents of Kisumu County, numbering 467,343, have so far benefited from Sh800 million from the Hustlers Fund kitty as of October 10, 2023.
Vedlight Musungu, Enterprise Development Officer, State Department for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), said that the county has registered a positive repayment from the borrowers at 66 per cent.
“The seven sub-counties are performing well, with Kisumu Central leading the pack in terms of the numbers of borrowers and repayment,’’ Mr. Musungu revealed while addressing a cross-section of women groups drawn from the county during a meeting held at a city hotel.
According to the statistics he read to the participants, 103,740 Kisumu Central residents borrowed 230 million and posted a repayment of 72.9 per cent, while 81,444 Kisumu East residents borrowed 140 million, with repayment standing at 67.7 per cent.
Kisumu West’s 77,980 residents benefited from Sh130 million disbursement with a repayment rate of 67.2 per cent, while their Nyando counterparts (60,200) borrowed Sh80 million and posted a 61.4 per cent repayment rate.
Some 53,266 Nyakach residents borrowed Sh80 million and registered a repayment rate of 63.6 per cent; Muhoroni’s 48,143 residents received disbursements of Sh80 million and a repaid rate of 66.5 per cent; while Seme’s 42,490 residents borrowed Sh60 million at a repayment rate of 66.1 per cent.
Nationally, according to Musungu, 21.4 million Kenyans have tremendously benefited from the Sh38 billion disbursed from the kitty as of October 16th.
“The total repayment is Sh27,226,317,928 and the borrowers have saved Sh 1,898,867,780. Total transactions are Sh 50,827,623, and the number of repeat customers is 7,607,059,’’ he clarified with data exclusively shared with KNA.
In the meeting convened by Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, Eliud Owalo, over 500 leaders of registered women groups were called to form cooperatives to enable them to access government funding for starting up businesses.
Some of the financing kitties earmarked for groups of youth, women, and persons with disabilities, which CS Owalo pointed out, include the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the Women Enterprise Fund, the Uwezo Fund, and the Hustlers Fund.
“We have sensitised women on the overall economic agenda, including fishing, agribusiness, trade, and the digital economy that the government has for the Nyanza region, and how they can be incorporated in improving the economy,’’ CS Owalo reiterated.
By Rolex Omondi
