Top Borrower From Hustler Fund Got Ksh4.5 Million- Ruto

President William Ruto has announced that the highest borrower of the Hustler Fund Loan initiative managed to receive Ksh4.5 million.

Speaking on Thursday, November 9 during his State of the Nation Address at Parliament buildings, Ruto revealed to Members of Parliament (MP) and Senators in attendance that the borrower received the amount after making a whooping 816 transactions. He however did not reveal the identity of the borrower.

With regards to the launch of the Second Phase of the Hustler Fund targeting Kenyans accessing the fund through groups that include chamas and Saccos, Ruto revealed that the Group Micro Enterprise Loan product attracted 50,000 groups.

"The top borrower of the Hustler Fund has so far accessed Ksh4.5 million in 816 transactions while the top voluntary saver is at Ksh631,491.

President William Ruto being taken through how to borrow from the Hustler Fund during its launch on November 30, 2022. /PCS

"In the intervening period, the Hustler Fund has also launched a group product which has attracted 50,000 active groups to the platform, of which, 20,000 have received Ksh151 million," he announced.

The product allows Kenyans to apply to take loans of between Ksh20,000 to Ksh1 million.

Ruto also praised the sporadic rise of the Hustler Fund launched in December 2022 at a time the need for affordable credit by Kenyans to help them navigate the high cost of living in the country was an all-time high.

"The Hustler Fund has provided us not only the huge pent-up demand for affordable credit, but also the readiness of Kenyans to express or to embrace credit and savings and to pay their loans on time with minimum prompting," he added.

"The notion that Kenyans are not credit-worthy or are high-risk borrowers is nothing more than an unjust financial profiling which has in many instances become a needless, self-fulfilling prophecy."

Ruto’s Hustler Fund is one of the flagship projects he promised during his campaigns and is specifically designed to support small-scale traders in the country. It comprises four products: personal, micro business, SME, and start-up loans.

The fund has a 14-day repayment period and those who default on the loans will see their interest rates increase from 8 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

If a customer does not the loans within the required time, they will be added an extra 15 days, before the increment of the interest rate. Furthermore, the borrowers who default will also have their Hustler Fund account frozen.

During his address, Ruto narrated the story of a tuk tuk operator based in Mombasa who suggested to him ways of making access to the Fund easier for him as he had accessed Ksh714,000 to purchase the vehicle for himself.

"Yesterday, when I called Harrison Kenga, a Tuk Tuk operator in Mombasa who has accessed Ksh714,000 from the Hustler Fund, he suggested to me to find a way to have the fund provide asset financing so that he could buy for himself a tuk-tuk because the one he had was not his. I assured him that during my address today, I would ask the ministry responsible to respond to him. 

"Consequently, I hereby direct the Ministry of Cooperatives and MSMEs to expeditiously engage Mr Kenga. I will give you his telephone number," he directed.

President William Ruto inspecting a guard of honour outside Parliament buildings on November 9, 2023. /MUSALIA MUDAVADI