On Wednesday, July 29, President William Ruto announced that the Financial Inclusion Fund, popularly known as the Hustler Fund, lends Kenyans Ksh50 million daily.
This is according to the brief he received from the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Wycliffe Oparanya.
Ruto explained that the money is lent to borrowers across three Hustler Fund products. He further disclosed that Kenyans have saved Ksh7 billion since the Fund's inception.
"So far, the Fund has disbursed KSh90 billion to 28 million borrowers on three products - Personal Loan, Bridge Loan and Hustler Groups - and is lending KSh50 million a day.
"The borrowers have saved KSh7 billion, a major achievement in the role the Hustler Fund was meant to play in mobilising national savings," the statement read in part.
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The President intimated that the Fund had 10 million repeat customers, 4.5 million of whom maintained credit scores of A and B courtesy of their good borrowing and repayment behaviour.
He expressed his pride in the milestones achieved by the Fund and the digital platform on which it was built and operates. Consequently, the Head of State promised to increase funding.
"Hustler Fund is making a difference in the lives of customers. We will continue resourcing the fund so that Kenyans can continue accessing the most affordable credit in the country," Ruto reiterated.
Other than Hustler Fund, Ruto's administration has also empowered youth through the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
Under NYOTA, young entrepreneurs from across the country have received loans to start their business ventures. Beneficiaries received a total of Ksh50,000, paid in two tranches.
Apart from the money, the NYOTA beneficiaries also received business training. Several county governments also announced waivers on businesses started using the Fund.
Earlier, the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA) had warned members of the public against a fraudulent group claiming to recruit and register beneficiaries for the Kenya Jobs and Economic Transformation Project (KJET) and the NYOTA programme.
MSEA flagged a WhatsApp group circulating messages that demand payments from members of the public in exchange for registration and access to programme benefits.
