The government is wooing the World Bank to support bankable Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with good credit score on the Hustler Fund.
During a meeting with the World Bank officials in the US, Cooperatives and MSME Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said currently there are 1.3 million MSMEs who qualify to access the Hustler Fund through the SME loan product which will be launched within the next three months.
Already, 800 small businesses have been identified and approved under group loans and another 400 are undergoing scrutiny before being allowed to access the new SME product.
“You cannot access this fund without paying the previous loan so in a way we are inculcating financial discipline. We will be looking for support from the World Bank to benefit those who have demonstrated capacity, ability and good behavior,” said Chelugui.
Within eight years since launch, the Hustler Fund has disbursed loans totaling Ksh 33 billion to 22 million borrowers.
Additionally, loan repayments have reached Ksh 22.7 billion as the mandatory savings also reached Ksh 1.6 billion.
“As we speak with the projections we are seeing, in the next five years, we will see the Hustler Fund growth in savings to over Ksh 6 billion,” he added.
Chelugui also said Hustler Fund has ensured financial equality and gender quality in the borrowing market. Currently men make up 53pc of customers on the platform while women borrowers are 4pc.
