Nairobi — President William Ruto has urged Kenyans who have borrowed the Hustlers Fund to repay their debt so as to increase their limit.
The kitty has so far disbursed Sh3.6 billion according to latest statistics by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
Speaking during the Mavoko Affordable Housing Project launch in Syokimau, President Ruto stated that the program was designed to assist Kenyan business people, and that in order to expand their limit in the Fund Kitty, they must comply with prompt loan repayment.
"We all said we want to help the Kenyans in the bottom, we start with those in the bottom. And that is why we said we must have affordable credit for the people who are doing small businesses," he said
"We have launched hustler fund first phase, will launch the second phase in February and I want to urge Kenyans who have borrowed already to pay their debts so they can add their limit."
The head of state also mentioned that the Hustler Fund has a pension plan, and he acknowledged that the program appears to perform better in terms of saving collection than the Nation Social Security Fund (NSSF).
"I have confirmed personally that in the last one-week savings from the borrowers have reached 200m and it is clear that the Kitty will collect more in savings than what currently NSSF is collecting."
All Kenyans who have registered in the kitty were congratulated by Ruto, who said that saving will aid in the development of the country.
He continued by saying that investing in a business is a function of saving, or in other words, one cannot invest in something they do not haveA
"The money we are borrowing from China and every other place, is the money save by the people from that country. We must drive our own development using our own savings," he added.
The Hustler Fund, a digital financial inclusion initiative launched by President William Ruto, provides access to credit for individuals and MSMEs. Individuals can borrow between sh 500 and sh 50,000.
On the first day, Kenyans borrowed an average of sh 17 million an hour, highlighting the appetite for cheap loans.
Those wishing to borrow from the Fund only need to dial *254# to access the fund, and one must be a Kenyan citizen aged 18 years and above, with a valid Identification Card and Registered Mobile number with mobile network providers like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom.
