President William Ruto has strongly defended the Hustler Fund against mounting criticism over its repayment performance, asserting that the initiative has transformed access to credit for millions of Kenyans.
Speaking at the Presidential Private Sector Roundtable in Nairobi Wednesday, Ruto dismissed claims from opposition leaders and experts that the fund is plagued by high default rates. “That saying the Hustler Fund has a 60% default rate, the truth is that it has over an 83% repayment rate. Stop calling Kenyans serial defaulters,” he said.
Launched on November 30, 2022, The Hustler Fund is one of Kenya Kwanza regime flagship project under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), and was designed to address market failures by offering financial support to micro-entrepreneurs who have for long been excluded from the traditional banking systems
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“In under three years, the Hustler Fund has disbursed over Ksh 72 billion to 26 million Kenyans, mobilized over Ksh 5 billion in savings, and provided vital working capital,” Ruto noted.
His remarks came in response to a report released on August 4th by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), titled “Failing the Hustlers” which cited a default rate of 68.3%, estimating that Ksh 340 is lost for every Ksh 5000 disbursed.
Ruto criticized the elites for being disconnected from the realities of low-income earners. “People in posh hotels don’t understand the hustles of small people,” he said.
By Masaki Enock
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