Two million Nairobians have borrowed Sh4bn from Hustler Fund

At least two million Nairobi residents have borrowed from the Kenya Kwanza hustler fund.

Revealing the data on Friday, President William Ruto noted that the two million residents had borrowed Sh4 billion.

He was speaking during the official opening of Grain Bulk Handlers Limited, Nairobi.

"Already the hustler fund has lent Sh23 billion to 15 million Kenyans so far," he said.

The President further revealed that contrary to critics who told Kenyans to borrow without refunding, that 80 percent of Kenyans are paying back the money.

"Actually 80 percent of Kenyans are paying back the money, with Sh7 million being repeat borrowers," he said.

President Ruto’s Hustler Fund is one of the flagship projects he promised during his campaigns.

A person must be at least 18 years old and have a valid national identification card, a registered SIM card, and a mobile money account with Safaricom, Airtel, or Telkom to qualify.

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.

To access the fund, Kenyans can dial *254# on their mobile phones.

During the launch, borrowers were warned against defaulting with the government issuing strict measures to curb the same.

Those who default on the loans will see their interest rates increase from 8 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

If a customer will not have paid the loans within the required time, they will be added an extra 15 days, before the increment of the interest rate. 

The borrowers who default will also have their Hustler Fund account frozen. 

On March 2, President Ruto launched the second product of the Hustler Fund.

The move came as the Hustler Fund seeks to partner with Saccos.

The product will provide low-interest loans to members of savings and credit cooperatives (Saccos) across the country.

Kenyans will be able to borrow a bigger amount ranging from Sh100,000 to Sh2.5 million.