Ruto Reports Major Hustler Fund Milestone as Daily Lending Hits Sh50 Million

President William Ruto interacting with an attendant during the official launch of the Hustler Fund at Nairobi’s Green Park Terminus on November 30, 2022.

The government’s digital lending platform, the Hustler Fund, has crossed the Sh90 billion disbursement mark across 28 million borrowers, signaling a steady expansion in government-backed credit.

During a recent progress update, President William Ruto confirmed that the Fund currently lends Sh50 million daily across three main offerings: Personal Loans, Bridge Loans, and Hustler Groups.

“We will continue resourcing the fund so that Kenyans can continue accessing the most affordable credit in the country,” Ruto stated.

The President highlighted that 10 million repeat customers now rely on the platform, with 4.5 million maintaining top-tier ‘A’ and ‘B’ credit ratings due to consistent repayment habits.

“The borrowers have saved Sh7 billion, a major achievement in the role the Hustler Fund was meant to play in mobilizing national savings,” Ruto said, noting that automated digital systems drive the entire infrastructure.

“I am very proud that these milestones have been achieved purely on a digital platform and the processes have all been digitized.”

To further encourage financial discipline, the Financial Inclusion Fund recently unveiled the Tukuze Hub, a collaborative venture with Strathmore University and the African Management Institute (AMI) that offers financial literacy, business training, and rewards for responsible borrowers.

Borrowers Get New Repayment Option

Simultaneously, administrators are rolling out creative recovery strategies to tackle a 15 percent default rate, which reached Sh12.5 billion in March. The Fund sent text notifications encouraging borrowers to clear outstanding balances using Safaricom Bonga Points at a rate of five points per shilling.

Hustler Fund Chief Executive Officer Henry Tanui reported that the option yielded Sh3 million in its opening week.

“The idea is that if there are other convenient options for borrowers to repay, then we should make them available,” Tanui said.

Safaricom’s latest annual report showed customers held Sh3.6 billion worth of unredeemed Bonga Points by March 2026, though the telecom operator noted point valuations fluctuate based on historical redemption trends.

These aggressive collection measures come as the Treasury shifts the scheme toward self-sustainability, cutting fresh budgetary allocations from an initial Sh20 billion down to Sh300 million for the financial year ending June 2026. Data from the State Department for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises shows the Fund had issued Sh83 billion in loans by March, recovering Sh71 billion.

However, operational challenges persist. A recent audit report from the Auditor General revealed that administrators disbursed 104,631 loans totaling Sh116.5 million to accounts missing national identity card numbers, raising sharp questions around credit assessment and identity verification.

Despite these hurdles, the Kenya Kwanza administration continues to position the Hustler Fund as a primary mechanism for financial inclusion, dangling higher borrowing limits to incentivize timely repayments.