Last week, President William Ruto launched his much-hyped Hustler Fund programme opening way for small businesses to apply for small loans without going through “the traditional bureaucratic processes.”
“There will be no requirements to fill any manual forms or to secure any third-party guarantors. The fund will be without any bureaucracy,” Ruto was quoted as to saying.
The loan will attract 8.0 per cent interest per annum and will be repaid within 14 days. The Ksh50 billion Fund is inspired by the regime’s campaign promise to formulate pro-people policies including supporting “hustlers”.
In the event that a borrower defaults for more than 30 days, they automatically lose all their credit scores accumulated and their Hustler Fund account is frozen.
Also Read: Number of Kenyans Registered for Hustler Fund Hit 12m
In an apparent effort to deliver his promise of economic liberation of the average citizens, President Ruto established the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro and Small Enterprise.
According to Dennis Ndung’u, Hustler Fund will go a long way in helping small business grow. “For a very long time, we have had policies that do not work in favour of the people…Hustler Fund has changed that, it has addressed one of the biggest challenges small businesses face: lack of reliable access to credit,” he told me during a consultative meeting between the leadership of cooperative societies and the government yesterday.
Benson Ngatia, a representative of a group of cooperative societies in Nyeri, says the government should ensure the money is not embezzled and mismanagement by cartels as has been the case with similar initiatives.
“The chronic failure of past affirmative action funds to achieve their goals calls for more drastic measures for the Hustler Fund than threats of fines, imprisonment and forcible debt collection,” Business Daily argued last week in an editorial.
Contrary to the promise during the campaigns, the loan will not be free. “There is no free money,” Ruto recently said, drawing criticism from the opposition.
“I will not repay that money. That was a promise, not a debt,” a trader at Kenyatta market, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity, told me yesterday.
According to financial expert Billow Kerrow, “There’s nothing revolutionary about the Hustler fund; there’s Fuliza and other digital credit providers.”
Shortly after the launch, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Simon Chelugui said more than 1.1 million Kenyans had registered and a total of KSh408m had already been disbursed.
As of yesterday, according to President Ruto, at least 13 million people had registered for Hustler Fund.
“Through the launching of this fund, we are supporting underserved Kenyans with services and products that are responsive to their enterprises. Also, liberating them from shylocks and establishing a culture of saving, investment, and social security,” he said.
Agnes Wandera, a member of a cooperative society in Nakuru, says Hustler Fund will change the lives of many people. “Most traders are already enjoying the benefits of this administration,” she said.
