According to the Cooperatives and MSME Development Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, President William Ruto is expected to launch another Hustler Fund product in February 2023.
“In February, the President will introduce a new Hustler Fund product. Kenyans will be able to borrow more money from this one, ranging from Sh100,000 to Sh2.5 million “he stated.
Chelugui stated that the microbusiness, SME, and Startup loans are expected to be geared toward enabling groups to access affordable credit.
Moreover, the CS stated that key milestones were reached one month after the Hustler Fund was launched.
He stated that according to data as of December 30, 2022, Sh12 billion had been disbursed.
“Out of the Sh12 billion, borrowers had repaid Sh4.7 billion, translating to about 40 percent,” Chelugui said.
“Out of the Sh12 billion, borrowers had repaid Sh4.7 billion, or roughly 40%,” Chelugui said.
With the fund now one-month-old, the CS stated that a proper analysis will be conducted in order to review individual loan limits.
“The government will review the limits. We’re making progress, Hustlers are becoming more empowered, but we also encourage them to repay because that’s the only way to improve one’s credit score,” Chelugui added.
“If you cannot pay back such a low-interest loan of 0.02 percent per day then you’re not being fair to yourself. Let’s all pay and move forward together,” he said.
Kenyans saved slightly more than Sh600 million from 20.6 million transactions in 30 days, according to the most recent data. The government deducts 5% from each loan, which goes towards the borrower’s savings.
The CS further said so far, 17.5 million Kenyans have registered and are using their phones to access the fund. 4.3 million of these people have borrowed more than once, indicating that the fund was steadily growing.
