Nairobi — President William Ruto has announced that the government has tripled the resources available under the Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) from Sh4.5 billion to Sh13.5 billion as it seeks to accelerate the economic empowerment of women across the country.

The move is expected to triple the number of women groups who benefit from the fund from the current 97,000.

Under the remodeled Women Enterprise Fund (WEF), Ruto said women will borrow at a rate of six per cent a year.

Speaking during the International Women's Day Celebrations at KICC, Ruto said the new Fund has been improved to eliminate bureaucracies and intermediaries who limited the accessibility of the loans.

In the past, processing of the loans took 45 days, the Head of State assured women that starting next week the funds will be accessed instantly.

"In the past we used to give the money to intermediaries who then engaged in many processes to disburse the loans. Now you will not have to talk anyone or fill out any forms, you will get the funds instantly," President Ruto said.

The remodeled Women Enterprise Fund will be accessible by dialing *254#, same platform the Hustler Fund uses where access to loans is instant.

At the same time, the President reported the launch of the Individual Micro Loan Product under the Hustler Fund to provide affordable credit to informal businesses.

"The product will be available to hustlers who will be eligible for amounts of between Sh10,000 and Sh100,000 at an annual interest rate of seven per cent," he said.