Africa-Press – Kenya. The Hustler Fund, administratively also known as the Financial Inclusion Fund, has increased the borrowing limit in response to public demand.
President William Ruto made the announcement Monday night during presidential townhall dialogue on loans and job creation held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, KICC.
He said many borrowers requested for their credit limit to be increased to enable them to borrow more as they had reached their borrowing limit.
“We decided to develop a product called ‘bridging loan’ and today we launched that product where the good borrowers will triple their credit limit,” the president said.
He said for instance, that those whose previous limit was Sh50,000 will now be able to borrow up to Sh150,000;
“There are others in different categories whose limits will have a multiplier effect from 3, two and a half in some cases, and one and a half in some cases—a total of 1.5 million borrowers of Hustler Fund tonight will get a new advanced credit limit,” Ruto added.
Further, the President revealed that the loan repayment period has been extended from the previous 14 days to 30 days, giving room for some four million defaulters to organise their books and repay their loans in time.
“It’s because of the feedback we got from this ecosystem. Many borrowers have told us 14 days is too short a period for us to pay back; can you consider doubling that term?”
He said those who have exceeded their repayment period beyond the stipulated 14 days will be evaluated afresh for two months and, based on their credit score, considered for inclusion in the Bridge Loan under the extended repayment window of 30 days.
The score has nine bands: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2 and C3 where A1 is ‘very good’ while C3 ‘very poor’.
“We are assigning a credit score to every borrower so that this becomes their new collateral,” the President said.
“So, four million people out there who have not paid their money, you have a chance.”
Ruto said the fund, launched on November 30, 2022, has since then attracted 24 million borrowers, eight million of whom are regular borrowers and two million are very good borrowers.
On June 1, 2023, Hustler Fund opened the window for enterprises to access affordable and accessible financing to spur their growth.
It followed the launch of the second product of the fund known as the Hustler Group Loan.
The President said Ruto said the facility would boost the hustler spirit and deepen financial inclusion in the country.
“That is the route to ensuring that enterprises grow, generate more earnings and create more jobs for millions of underprivileged Kenyans,” Ruto said.
He was speaking at the Moi Stadium Embu during the Madaraka Day celebrations.
Ruto said then that the fund had thus far witnessed 42.5 million transactions through which 20.2 million Kenyans had accessed about Sh30 billion.
Out of the amount, he said, Sh19.7 billion had been repaid.
“Not a single shilling has been stolen through corruption,“ President Ruto insisted.
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