President William Ruto has revealed that the government’s Hustler Fund has disbursed nearly Ksh90 billion to more than 27 million Kenyans, while enabling over two million borrowers previously blacklisted by Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB) to rebuild their creditworthiness and rejoin the formal financial system.
Speaking on Saturday, June 27, 2026, during World MSME Day, Ruto described the fund as a cornerstone of financial inclusion, providing affordable loans to small-scale traders and entrepreneurs who had long been excluded from traditional banking channels.
“Through the Hustler Fund, we have disbursed close to Ksh90 billion to more than 27 million Kenyans and mobilised over Ksh6 billion in savings from citizens the banking sector had long written off,” he said.
The President highlighted the fund’s success in offering a “second chance” to Kenyans who had been negatively listed on CRB, noting that more than two million have already rebuilt their borrowing history and regained access to mainstream financial services.
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“Today, they have a second chance, and they are making their way up the ladder. Already, over 2 million have rebuilt their credit, and they have entered the formal economy,” Ruto added.
He explained that many Kenyans who were previously locked out of financial systems are now actively participating in economic activities thanks to improved access to credit. Building on this progress, the government is developing a national credit scoring framework that will assess borrowers based on repayment discipline and financial behavior rather than collateral such as land titles or logbooks.
“Now we are turning that credit history into a national credit score so that character and behaviour, not just a title deed and a logbook, can unlock financing,” Ruto said.
Ruto said the initiative is central to his administration’s broader plan to strengthen micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up the majority of businesses in Kenya and remain key drivers of employment and economic growth.
By Masaki Enock
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