President Ruto pledged a Hustlers’ Fund which would dispense microloans straight to mobile phones “at single-digit interest”. The intention was that the loans would be used to start businesses and help “hustlers” make their way out of poverty. They were primarily aimed at women and young people. The significance of the Hustler Fund was that the government became a micro-lender. This controversial new role was applauded by the financial inclusion lobby as a way to correct failures in the credit market. After its launch in November 2022, Kenyans took up the hustler loan in large numbers. As at August 2024, there were roughly 21 million borrowers. The Hustler Fund has the most active loans in the market, taking a 45% share of the active loans in the digital lending industry. M-Shwari has 28% of all active loans.
