The government’s initiative to provide cheap loans through the Hustler Fund has turned one year old with at least Ksh.49 billion disbursed loans to a population and 19 million active borrowers.
Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) Cabinet Secretary (CS) Simon Chelugui, said that the country will be celebrating one year of the successful use of the hustler fund on 30th November 2023 having launched it on 30th November 2022 and the event will be presided over by the Head of State President William Ruto.
He described the Hustler Fund as an idea and plan they had to solve a problem that afflicted many Kenyans.
Speaking during a press briefing held at Green Park area Nairobi, Chelugui said that for every amount borrowed from the Fund, they make a saving of 5% for the borrower with the current savings standing at Sh.1.9 billion.
Chelugui gave an example of Harrison- a Tuktuk operator in Mombasa- who had a telephone conversation with President Dr. William Ruto, and has borrowed from the Hustler Fund more than 800 times and has accumulated a savings of over Sh.37, 000 and a total borrowing of over Sh.740, 000.
“Last year over Sh.7 million Kenyans had been listed in the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), according to statistics and numbers given to us by our service providers, over three million Kenyans have moved from CRB. We have been able to empower them, this is also the impact of this fund,” he said.
He also said that they have sensitized many Kenyans giving them financial and digital literacy.
He went on and said that they have over 7.5 million repeat customers who borrow and repay hustler funds.
The CS stated that it is their dream and hope that the fund will graduate to other products like universal health insurance and affordable low-cost housing just to mention a few.
He said that with the statistics they have ranked the Hustler fund customers according to age and they have established that the majority of them are from the age of 18-35 years thus making up the population of youths.
CS Chelugui concluded by saying that repayments are at Sh.28 billion putting their repayment rates at over 70% which he said was good progress.
By Cynthia Cherotich and Damaris Munyao
