Ruto reaches out to World Bank and EU for Hustler Fund support
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Ruto adminstration in talks with World Bank and European Union (EU) to boost Hustler Fund financial programme
Ruto adminstration in talks with World Bank and European Union (EU) to boost Hustler Fund financial programme.
Kenya is in talks with the World Bank and European Union to ramp up its “Hustler Fund” project that is already providing cheap credit to more than 20 million of the country’s poor.
According to a source in government, if the deal goes through, World Bank support could reach up to 20 billion shillings ($139 million), including through an existing program to assist small businesses.
This could facilitate lending of 200 billion shillings over the next five years.
By June 2024, according to Simon Chelugui, Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development, the Treasury plans to invest 10 billion shillings. This will increase its initial funding of 12 billion naira.
He stated in an interview in Nairobi on Monday that negotiations with the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development, another potential supporter, are still in the early stages.
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Despite not currently considering direct Hustler Fund financial support, a World Bank spokeswoman said that the organization was working with the Kenyan government and that funds may be directed toward small enterprises with high enough Hustler Fund scores to be eligible for market-based financing.
The Hustler Fund, which began issuing loans in December 2022, is intended to fulfill a key campaign promise made by President William Ruto during last year’s contentious election regarding affordable credit.
The Hustler Fund is administered by KCB Group Plc and Family Bank Ltd. and is accessible via all mobile money platforms in the country.
Approximately 7.4 million customers are recurrent borrowers, and approximately 10% of loans are “past due,” according to CS Simon Chelugui.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the proportion of commercial banks’ aggregate non-performing loans stood at 14.5% in June 2023.
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