Kenya: Hustler Fund Sustainability Concerns Dominate Budget Talks

22 May 2026
Capital FM (Nairobi)

Nairobi — Questions over the sustainability of the Hustler Fund dominated a parliamentary committee session reviewing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development empowerment programmes.

Lawmakers in the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning urged the State Department for MSMEs Development to strengthen financial literacy training before releasing additional funds, saying beneficiaries need better skills to manage loans and grants effectively.

Officials told the Committee that the Hustler Fund has disbursed KSh14.4 billion since inception, while the NYOTA Programme has released KSh2.28 billion in start-up capital.

The department is seeking an additional KSh11.3 billion for NYOTA expansion and KSh5 billion to address liquidity challenges facing Hustler Fund borrowers.

However, MPs questioned the fund's continued reliance on taxpayer funding despite being designed as a revolving facility.

Legislators expressed concern that continued reliance on fresh allocations from the national budget every financial year could undermine the fund's intended self-sustaining model.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2026 Capital FM. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.