President William Ruto launched Hustler Fund kitty Wednesday, unlocking over five million Kenyans who had been denied credit by banks.
In a *254# application which does not need a guarantee or any collateral, thousands of Kenyans lined up with their phones to apply for the funds, which according to the regulatory framework ranges from Ksh.500 at a minimum to Ksh.50, 000 maximum.
Hours into the launch at Greenpark Terminus, Nairobi, over 160,000 Kenyans had already applied to tap into the Ksh.50 billion kitty, the President confirmed – signalling a dire wait among millions of Kenyans.
“Nimeambiwa tayari hapa ya kwamba wakenya 160,000 tayari wamejaribu kutafuta kama hii pesa iko,” he said.
“Everybody will be given a second chance to access this funds, but please, do not abuse that chance,” he added.
A cross check by Uzalendo News indicated the busy the platform after the launch – with one being asked to wait for 30 minutes before applying again.
If not busy, then the service was entirely not available.
Those who managed to sail through with registration had a maximum of Ksh.3,000 approved.
The President, Chief Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had theirs approved at Ksh.2,200, Ksh.2,800 and Ksh.1,600, respectively.
All Kenyans registered with all network service providers and are aged above 18 years are eligible for the funds.
