President William Ruto has defended the Hustler Fund, his flagship economic empowerment initiative, amid growing calls for its dissolution over alleged underperformance and structural flaws.
Speaking during a roundtable with private sector representatives, Ruto dismissed criticism of the Fund as misguided, insisting it has delivered tangible results for millions of Kenyans at the grassroots.
“Our critics, the naysayers, the perpetual pessimists, the chorus that never sees anything working in Kenya, would have you believe that the Hustler Fund is a total failure,” said Ruto.
“To them, a micro-loan of Sh1,000 seems too small to matter.”
He highlighted the Fund’s achievements since its inception, stating it has disbursed over Sh72 billion to 26 million Kenyans, mobilised Sh5 billion in savings, and provided essential working capital to micro-entrepreneurs across the country.
Addressing claims of high default rates, Ruto dismissed reports suggesting that the Hustler Fund has a 60 per cent loan default rate, branding them as “deliberate distortions of facts.”
He said official data shows a loan recovery rate of 83.3 per cent, comparable to the 83.6 per cent repayment rate of the formal banking sector.
“What exactly are they saying? That ordinary, hardworking Kenyans, the mama mboga, boda boda riders, Jua Kali artisans, are serial defaulters?” he posed.
“Kenyans are better than that. Kenyans are honest. Kenyans are resilient.”
Ruto reiterated his administration's commitment to inclusive economic transformation and dismissed critics as "merchants of doom and negativity."
“We remain unfazed in building a new, inclusive, fair, and equitable society, and I count on the private sector, an essential ally and collaborator, in this quest,” he said.
The President’s remarks follow a recent call by the Kenya Human Rights Commission to wind up the Hustler Fund, citing design and implementation flaws that they say have rendered it ineffective in achieving its core goals of enterprise development and job creation.
“Expecting a small business to take a Sh500 loan, generate returns, and repay it within two weeks is not just impractical, it borders on financial sabotage,” the KHRC said in its report.
The commission noted that despite more than Sh53 billion
being disbursed by September 2024, their research found no measurable impact on
job creation or business growth among fund recipients.
