The government has allocated KSh 300 million to the Hustler Fund in the 2025/25 Financial Year, to scale up access to credit for households and MSMEs.
- •Overall, the transformation of Micro, Medium and Small Enterprise (MSME) economy where the fund falls will see the government pump over Ksh2.4 billion in the next one year, beginning July 1 2025 to spur growth in the sector.
- •The Hustler Fund, officially known as The Financial Inclusion Fund, was conceived as an initiative to uplift Kenya’s economically marginalized — “hustlers”— but the fund’s most ardent borrowers have been individuals in the wealthiest quintiles.
- •As part of reforms to the Fund, the government moved to have debtors removed from credit reference bureaus, which saw 7 million Kenyans removed from the blacklist.
“The Government recognizes the challenge of accessing affordable credit by most Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Kenyans at the bottom of the pyramid. To address this challenge, I have proposed an additional allocation of Ksh 300 million to the Financial Inclusion Fund, popularly as known as the Hustler Fund, to scale up access to credit for households and MSMEs. I have also proposed an additional Ksh 308 million for the Youth Enterprise Development Fund; Ksh 550 million for the Centre for Entrepreneurship Project; and Ksh 1.3 billion for Rural Kenya Financial Inclusion Facility,” he said.
The 2025 Economic Survey shows Wealthy individuals have emerged as the most enthusiastic borrowers of the Hustler Fund, with 35.8% of those in the highest wealth quintile and 33.5% of those in the second highest quintile using the mini-credit program, according to the 2025 Economic Survey.
In addition to the top wealth quintiles, the middle quintile’s usage ranked at 28.8% while the second lowest wealth quintile followed at 26.2%. Comparatively, individuals in the lowest wealth quintile recorded just 18.7% usage.
By the first anniversary of the Hustler Fund, it had disbursed over KSh39.7 billion to 21.8 million people and mobilised KSh2 billion in savings. Total repayments stood at KShs 28.75 billion.
To make it possible for every Kenyan to have a chance in seeking financial credit, the government changed policy from blacklisting debtors to repairing their creditworthiness. Consequently, 7 million Kenyans were moved from CRB.
In 2023, President Ruto announced enhancements to the Hustler Fund, including a government savings match where for every KSh2 saved, the government will add KSh1 (up to KSh3,000).
