Nairobi News

The Ministry of Co-operatives & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has released its findings regarding the borrowing pattern of the Hustler Fund.

In its data, it emerges that 54 percent of men have borrowed the fund compared to 46 percent of women who have subscribed to it.

Also read: Kenyans borrowing Sh1million of Hustler Fund every minute

Also, the majority of Hustler Fund borrowers don’t use smartphones. Only 48 percent of borrowers use smartphones, while 52 percent use feature phones to access the fund.

“This is evidence that the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) is transforming the lives of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid,” the ministry said.

By January 13, 17 million Kenyans had registered to the fund, and 14.44 million were already borrowing the fund.

More than Sh13 billion has so far been disbursed, while savings have hit Sh697 million.
The repayment rate of the fund stands at 50.57 percent.

The youth mostly borrow the fund at 35.2 percent, while those aged 39-39 are at 28.7 percent.

Most of the Hustler Fund customers are from Nairobi County (1.7 million), Kiambu 980 million, Nakuru 717 million customers, Machakos 564 million, and Kakamega County closes the top five with 519 million customers.

Also read: How to determine your own Hustler Fund loan amount

President William Ruto launched the fund in December last year, fulfilling one of his promises to introduce the cheapest loans targeting small business people.

The President is expected to launch another product of Hustler Fund next month, where borrowers can access bigger amounts ranging from Sh100, 000 to Sh2.5 million, unlike the current minimum of Sh500 and a maximum of Sh50, 000.

The fund, which comprises four products: personal, micro business, SME, and start-up loans, can be accessed by dialing *254#.

Kenyans have been asked to pay their loans in time in order to increase their borrowing limits.

Also read: Play Store apps with similar names to Ruto’s Hustler Fund