Ruto order adds Sh1.8bn on Hustler Fund budget
President William Ruto (right) and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (centre) during the launch of the Hustler Fund at Green Park Terminus in Nairobi on November 30, 2022.
What you need to know:
- A directive by President William Ruto to raise the loan limit for six million Hustler Fund borrowers will add Sh1.8 billion to the fund’s budget, an assessment shows.
- Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Size Enterprises Cabinet secretary Simon Chelugui said the government is ready to raise the borrowing limit for 42 per cent of the 14.2 million Kenyans who have tapped into the Hustler Fund credit so far.
- The Sh12 billion Hustler Fund is earmarked to be one of the biggest beneficiaries in the recently published Supplementary Budget Estimates for the financial year 2022/23.
A directive by President William Ruto to raise the loan limit for six million Hustler Fund borrowers will add Sh1.8 billion to the fund’s budget, an assessment shows.
Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Size Enterprises Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the government is ready to raise the borrowing limit for 42 per cent of the 14.2 million Kenyans who have tapped into the Hustler Fund credit so far.
“As we speak, we should be able to raise the limit starting February 14. The names of everyone to whom this will be applicable have been mapped out. The raising of the limit is going to only those who have borrowed and repaid. It will need an extra Sh1.8 billion to cover the raising of the limit,” he said in an interview yesterday.
President Ruto earlier this month ordered that the six million Hustler Fund borrowers would access more funds based on their financial history.
“End of this month every borrower will be assigned a financial grade. This will explain what makes one have a good grade,” he during the Kenya Police Sacco 50th Anniversary Celebrations and opening of Police Sacco Stadium in South C, Nairobi.
Hustler Fund Micro Credit
Dr Ruto also announced the launch of a new product, Hustler Fund Micro Credit, that will allow saccos, and groups to borrow on behalf of their members.
“By the end of this month, Hustler Fund will have a second product that will help those in Sacco and groups to also access low-interest credit and help members grow their businesses,” he said.
The personal loan product of the Hustler Fund was launched on November 30, 2022, allowing adult Kenyans to borrow between Sh500-Sh50,000.
The Sh12 billion Hustler Fund is earmarked to be one of the biggest beneficiaries in the recently published Supplementary Budget Estimates for the financial year 2022/23.
This allocation to the Hustler Found accounts for 61 per cent of the proposed total increase to the State Department for Cooperatives.
“Treasury has supported us and has already disbursed the Sh1.8 billion required to the trust accounts. We have wallets held in two banks, Kenya Commercial Banka and Family Bank, and they are the ones who now inject liquidity into the mobile money wallets of borrowers”, Chelugui said.
So far, the government indicates that 800,000 borrowers have failed to honour their Hustler Fund loan repayment obligations. The second credit facility of the Hustler Fund, which will be a micro-loan, is slated for launch at the end of February.
