President William Ruto has hit out at Kenyans who borrowed money from the Hustler Fund and failed to repay their loans.
Speaking on Friday, November 7, he said some individuals took small loans and disappeared, reminding them that the ultimate loss was theirs.
Ruto made it clear that the government won't go after individuals who took the loans and chose not to repay.
"There are people who took Ksh500 from the Hustler Fund and ran away with it. The loss is yours. Use your brains, my friends. That Ksh500 you ran away with, no one will come after you for it," he said.
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This comes months after Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Principal Secretary Susan Mang'eni revealed that the Hustler Fund lost Ksh6 billion borrowed by over 10 million Kenyans in 2022.
Speaking on Wednesday, May 21, while appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, she revealed that borrowers have failed to repay Hustler Fund loans, despite having taken the money over two years ago.
Mang'eni announced that the government is considering writing off the Ksh6 billion defaulted loans.
"They never repaid, and that's what we will be seeking to write off. The portfolio that is totally at risk and is in default is between Ksh5 billion and Ksh6 billion," she said.
Mang'eni further noted that the government will institute mechanisms to try and recover the loans.
"Since we had graded these people, we are going to institute a mechanism of recovery through incentives and certain sanctions, like locking them from accessing other enhanced opportunities.
"If we were to do forceful recovery again, the challenge will be the law, so we are looking at the law to see at what point we will introduce forceful recovery," she added.
Mange’ni also defended the fund’s performance, noting that 9 million borrowers remain active and continue to repay their loans.
She highlighted that the government has disbursed Ksh65.7 billion to Kenyans with repayments totaling Ksh53.2 billion.
Further, Mang’eni appealed to the National Assembly to allocate an additional Ksh 5 billion for the fund in the 2025/2026 financial year.
"Those who are doing better, we have to enhance their limits, and the moment we enhance someone's limit, you have to fund, and that is the reason why we are asking for additional funding," she further said.
