President William Ruto has called upon Visa company to partner with Kenya as the country extends its international bilateral wings.
On Wednesday, the Head of State welcomed the Global digital payments giant company’s interest in partnering with the Hustler Fund
"Kenya recognises the crucial role that Visa continues to play in powering Diaspora remittances and investment. We welcome the company’s interest in partnering with the Hustler Fund to facilitate faster access.," Ruto said.
This was revealed during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Visa Alfred Kelly in Washington, D.C., United States of America.
With only 12 days after its the fund's launch ( as of December 12, 2022 ), it was revealed that approximately 15 million customers who opted in have received loans totaling Sh7.54 billion.
Loan repayment for the fund hit Sh1.2 billion by December 12, 2022.
According to President Ruto , the intake into the fund is a sign of Kenyans’ trust in both the Hustler Fund and the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The fund is specifically designed to support small-scale traders in the country.
The Hustler Fund comprises four products: personal, micro business, SME and start-up loans.
Kenya has partnered with Visa company in the past.
In June this year, Visa opened an innovation studio in Kenya, the first in Africa, to expand its reach in the region.
The studio will bring together developers, Visa’s internal and external clients, and other partners to co-create payment and commerce solutions.
Opening of the hub in Kenya was a strategy to capture market as consumers switch to new payment platforms and digital wallets that could bypass the card networks or slow their revenue growth.
In 2021 , Visa partnered with Kenya’s largest telco Safaricom to allow the firm's 150,000 mobile money (M-Pesa) merchants to accept card payments.
The Nairobi studio is the first in Africa and sixth globally, after posts in Dubai, London, Miami, San Francisco and Singapore.
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