Kenyans to access Hustler Fund savings from November - CS Chelugui

Kenyans who have been borrowing and saving in the Hustler Fund will begin redeeming their savings by November.

Cooperatives and Micro and Small Enterprise Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui made the announcement on Friday, saying a total of Ksh.1.8 billion had been saved since the fund was launched.

He said that, so far, a total of Ksh.36 billion had been loaned to Kenyans in President William Ruto’s pilot project that began in November last year. 

“We have dispersed over Ksh.36 billion to 22 million Kenyans and we have also a saving component of Ksh.1.8 billion,” said CS Chelugui.

“The first saver will access his 30 per cent of the savings on November 1 this year.”

The CS, while imploring more Kenyans to subscribe to the credit service, said the government was working on removing security features to focus on cultivating the character of borrowers.

According to Chelugui, the new terms will see a frequent debtor who repays on time earning more trust and the government would be able to refer them to top financial institutions for larger loans.

“We have done away with the traditional securitization of borrowing. No more security…We are pioneering credit scoring; the character of the borrower to understand that if you borrow you will need to pay. And if you borrow frequently, and you repay on time, your credit score will go up,” said the CS.

“In the end, we can now transfer that information to any leading financial institution which can use that information to give you more money.”

He added: “Hustler Fund is a common man’s fund; it is used to develop, mentor and bring up Kenyans who might have been unfortunately disadvantaged and put them back into the financial cycle.”