Ruto's Message to Kenyans Who Took Hustler Fund Loans and Vanished

In a tough message to the Kenyans who had borrowed money in the Hustler Fund and had not been repaying their loans, President William Ruto reminded the people that it was their own fault that they would end up losing the money.

On Friday, November 7, Ruto criticized those who took small portions of the fund and went to hide, saying that they were only destroying their own economic welfare and prospects of future sustenance.

There are those who stole the Hustler Fund of Ksh500 and fled away with it.

The loss is yours. Use your brains, my friends. No one will track you down to get Ksh500 that you eloped with, the president replied.

Ruto reiterated that the government would never go after the defaulters through coercive means, but he cautioned that doing so contradicts the rationale of the fund, which was established to empower small corporate citizens and the low-income earners.

He reminded the Kenyans that the Hustler Fund was set up to avail them of ready credit and assist them in expanding their businesses, and not as a free money handout.

These comments by the president were made many months after Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Principal Secretary (PS) Susan Mangwineni revealed that the Hustler Fund had gone down by nearly Ksh6 billion that had been borrowed by a large number of over 10 million Kenyans in 2022.

After presenting herself before the National Assembly Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives on Wednesday, May 21, it was disclosed to the committee by Mang'eni that a big portion of borrowers defaulted on their loans, with some having taken the cash more than two years ago without repaying it.

They have never paid back, and this is what we shall be writing off. The completely risky and defaulted portfolio is lying within Ksh5 billion and Ksh6 billion, the PS informed MPs.

Mang'eni reported that the government had plans to write off the defaulted loans but was also considering ways through which repayment would be encouraged in a bid to avoid future losses.

We are going to put in place a system of recovery using incentives and some punishments, like not being able to access other improved opportunities, since we have graded these people, she told them.

The PS also clarified that with legal limitations, it was not easy to recover forcefully, but the government was considering the legal framework to find out how and when that could be implemented.

Mang'eni justified the high rate of default by saying that most of the borrowers have been consistent in repaying the loan and that is the overall performance of the Hustler Fund.

She indicated that the number of active borrowers is still 9 million and they keep on repaying their loans diligently.

The government statistics indicate that the fund has already paid Ksh65.7 billion as compensation to Kenyans, with repayments totaling Ksh53.2 billion - a pointer that the program is still performing its role of empowering small traders as well as the informal sector.

Mang'eni asked Parliament to add another Ksh5billion to the Hustler Fund in the 2025/2026 financial year to aid in raising the borrowing limit of disciplined borrowers.

Those performing better, we have to begin to ameliorate their limit, and the instant we begin to ameliorate a limit of someone, you have to finance it, which is the reason we are asking to add the funding.

One notable promise made by the new government focused on providing small traders, boda boda drivers, and other informal players in the sector with affordable credit, which became a flagship promise of the new government, was the Hustler Fund, which was launched by President Ruto in December 2022. Within the mobile platform, borrowers are able to receive a loan between Ksh500 and Ksh50,000 at 8% per annum.

But due to the high default rate, it has brought about the issue of the sustainability of the fund and the financial discipline of the beneficiaries. The most recent statements by Ruto have been perceived as a caution and a reminder that proper borrowing is the key to accessing more economic opportunities.

The president reiterated that the government will not chase down those who defaulted on their loans, but those who diligently pay their loans will remain eligible to higher limits and more chances to take credit, a concept that the fund has supported since its inception of rewarding discipline and responsibility in repaying loans.