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.
- •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 are individuals in the wealthiest quintiles.
This inversion of expectations highlights a structural flaw in outreach and design, where those already financially literate and digitally connected are better positioned to benefit from a program meant for the underprivileged.
The Fund remains a controversial program, often cited as a populist creation that enrolled over 25 million users and disbursed billions in micro loans, often via mobile phones, with minimal bureaucratic hurdles but no proper recovery plan.
Most of the recipients of the Hustler Fund loans are aged between 26 and 35 years, representing 39.4% of the total. Older individuals between ages 36 and 45 trail behind them at 34%, with the lowest borrowers being those above 55 years at 11.2%.
Urban dwellers outpace their rural counterparts in the borrowing race at 35.4% compared to 24.2%. Kenyans who own businesses and casual workers represented the highest borrowers recording 34.9% and 34.5% respectively. On the other hand, 31.8% of men borrowed loans compared to 26% of women.
The Future of the Hustler Fund
However, the Fund’s lax eligibility checks have exposed a mismatch between mission and impact. Recent revelations from the Auditor General show that loans were issued to minors, including infants, and to individuals born decades into the future, raising red flags about the system’s integrity.
With 64% of loans now in default and no structured recovery mechanism in place, the government faces mounting pressure to overhaul what was once hailed as a revolution in financial inclusion-. Still, the government persists in pushing for more budgetary allocation for the Fund.
Parliament, however, has rejected the government’s proposal to increase the Hustler Fund allocation from KSh1 billion to KSh5 billion, citing poor loan recovery rates. Lawmakers questioned the wisdom of expanding the fund amid the high default rate and broader fiscal pressures.
Despite pleas from Principal Secretaries Susan Mang’eni and Patrick Kilemi warning that key economic initiatives could stall, MPs expressed skepticism about the fund’s performance and prioritization.
Other Funds
Grants to the Uwezo Fund dropped from KSh 239.7 million in 2023/24 to KSh 140.7 million in 2024/25, even as loan disbursements to women, youth, and persons with disabilities are projected to rise sharply. Disbursements to youth are set to more than triple, reaching KSh 324 million, with the number of groups accessing the fund expected to grow from 5,155 to 6,000.
The Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) saw an 88.1% plunge in loan disbursements, dropping from KSh 941.9 million in 2023/24 to just KSh 111.8 million in 2024/25 after missing out on government development grants. As a result, the number of women beneficiaries fell drastically from 208,505 to 3,307, with only 310 groups accessing loans compared to 18,955 the previous year.
