President William Ruto has raised concerns over the borrowing limit of the Hustler Fund.
Speaking in Machakos on Monday, Ruto narrated how his barber questioned why he is yet to get a higher borrowing limit despite using the service for long and growing his borrowing and saving portfolio.
"My barber came to do work on the little that is left on my head. He told me, Mr President at the moment I have Sh5,600 as savings in the Hustler fund account," he said
"Why is it that my borrowing limit is still Sh5,000?
"Why don't you consider the fact that I have saved even past the required limit and increase it."
According to the President, that was a fundamental question asked by a hustler but he didn't have the answer.
"I was very honest that I didn't have an answer for him at that point," Ruto revealed.
However, he revealed that he has since posed the question to the Cabinet Secretary in charge, Safaricom and other stakeholders.
"I need them to respond because we need to answer that gentleman because when next he comes to visit, he needs an answer," Ruto added.
The President said that such questions reveal that there are many Kenyans out there who know what it means to have access to affordable credit.
The Sh50 billion Hustler Fund for personal loans was launched on November 30.
At least 22 million Kenyans have so far borrowed the money with Sh1.8 billion going into savings.
Nairobi residents alone have borrowed a total of Sh6 billion out of the Sh36 billion disbursed so far from the Hustler Fund since its launch 10 months ago.
The revelation by President Ruto last week makes Nairobi one of the leading counties with the highest number of borrowers at 2.1 million.
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.
