Hustler Fund
The Hustler Fund is part of the government’s answer to predatory lending that has historically denied many households an opportunity to make their rightful contribution to nation building. The Fund is expected to offer the much needed relief and a new lease of life to over 8 million Kenyans who had been blacklisted.
As a result, citizens will be able to start or boost their hustles without being crushed by predatory lenders, shylocks and over-the-roof interest rates. The Fund is designed to improve financial access to individuals, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya. It will lend to individuals and businesses at 8 per cent per annum, the lowest interest rates ever charged in the country.
How do I opt in?
Access the Hustler Fund via the USSD *254#.
To be eligible, one needs to fulfil the below conditions:
1) Be Kenyan citizen with a valid National ID (18 years of age and above);
2) Have a valid registered SIM card and have been on any network for at least 90 days.
3) The minimum loan amount that can be disbursed is KSh500 (minimum a customer can request at a time).
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Frequently asked questions.
- The Hustler fund is a digital financial inclusion initiative designed to improve financial access to responsible finance for personal, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya.
- The fund brings you credit to where you are – transforms credit into “credit on the go.”
- ants.
The Hustler fund is a creation of the draft Public Finance Management (Financial Inclusion Fund) Regulations, 2022.
- The Hustler fund is important because it provides access to responsible finance for personal, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by innovating, developing, and deploying bottom-of-the-pyramid financial services and products that are affordable, accessible, and appropriate for the unserved and underserved persons, including credit, saving, insurance, pension, and investment products.
- It is envisaged that the fund will help to improve financial access and reduce poverty.
The Hustler fund will work in two ways:
- By providing a digital platform where people find the best deals on financial products; secondly,
- By developing a series of digital tools and resources to help people understand and manage their finances better.
The Hustler fund is accessible through the USSD and the T-kash APP (Soon) platforms.
There are four products available under the Hustler fund, these include:
- Personal Finance – (Kshs 500 to Kshs. 50,000 depending on your scoring)
- Micro Loans
- SME Loans and
- Start Up
The first installment of this fund is the Personal Finance product, which will be launched on November 30, 2022.
- When you visit the Hustler fund website, you will be able to see different available products.
- Each product has a description of what it is for and whom it is designed to help.
- You can also read reviews from other users to get an idea of what they thought about the product before making your decision.
- The loan limits for this product will be a minimum of Ksh. 500 up to a maximum that will be determined by the borrower’s credit score and capped at Ksh. 50,000.00.
- The increase in limit will be dependent on the individual customer’s performance on consistent loan borrowing and repayment on time
- The limit shall be reviewed and adjusted based on the borrowing and repayment history of previous Hustler Fund loans taken.
The loan interest rate is capped at 8% per annum computed on a pro-rated basis.
- Must be a Kenyan citizen of 18 years of age and above
- Must have a valid national Identification Card (ID)
- Must have a registered mobile number from a recognized Mobile Network Operator in Kenya i.e., either Airtel, Safaricom, or Telkom
- Have a mobile money account i.e., either Airtel Money/M-Pesa/T-Kash
- The SIM card in question can/ will only be eligible if it has been in use for more than 90 days.
- Reside and conduct economic activities in Kenya.
- Provide the Location of residence during the onboarding process (where applicable)
The customer is required to:
- Sign up for the Hustler Fund platform by dialing USSD *254# or through the mobile app.
- Accept the Terms and Conditions to join the Fund
- Set and Confirm Service Pin
- Upon fulfillment of steps 1-3, an SMS will be sent to notify them of their successful registration and the limit assignment.
- In the event of a failed registration, the borrower will be notified via SMS
You will not receive your loan if you are not registered to T-kash. Loans will be disbursed to the T-kash wallet and repayment made through the wallet as well
Visit Telkom shops or Agents to register for T-kash. Call 160/100 for assistance.
- Your money is safe because your Hustler Fund account is protected by your Mobile Money PIN.
- Once you replace your SIM card at your Mobile Network Operator outlet, you will be able to access your Hustler Fund account using your current Mobile Money PIN.
You do not need to opt-in again
Once registered and loan limits assigned, the customer is required to follow the application steps to access the loan:
- Dial USSD code *USSD code# or mobile application.
- Select the loan request option to view the limit, interest, and loan tenure.
- Enter the loan amount and press OK to continue
- Confirm loan details as displayed to continue
- Enter Mobile Money pin
- Receive SMS notifications on Loan allocation with relevant loan information.
Once the customer has successfully applied and has received an SMS notification regarding loan information, back-office loan processing takes place in the following steps:
- Loan Appraisal – The application will be subjected to the predetermined formula based on existing qualification parameters
- Loan Approval- Approval shall be granted based on meeting eligibility criteria, credit worthiness.
- Upon approval, the loan will be disbursed to the borrower’s mobile wallet.
- Out of the total approved loan, 95% shall be disbursed to the mobile wallet of the borrower, 5% channeled to the savings Scheme.
- The loan repayment period shall be 14 days with an interest of 8%.
- The borrower may re-pay the loan as a lump sum or in part provided that the full repayment is done within 14 days.
If the loan is not repaid within the stipulated 14 days, the customer’s credit rating is negatively affected. However, if the loan is paid in full, the loan contract is closed, and the customer can request another loan. All transaction notifications to the customer will be by SMS.
- You can only get one loan at a time and qualify for another loan if you Pay your loan in full
- Qualified borrowers are eligible for only one loan at a time hence multiple loan borrowing on varied networks is therefore prohibited.
- Continue using Hustler Fund and pay your loan on time
- Also, assessment of credit history on subsequent loan applications and repayment shall apply to determine subsequent qualifications for the facility.
This will involve monitoring and evaluation of the facility disbursed and repaid to identify the level of portfolio risks, the following initiatives will be adopted for loan recovery and management.
- The borrower will be notified of the due date and outstanding amount 5 days prior via SMS.
- On the thirtieth day of the facility, the customer is notified that the facility is due.
- One day after the thirtieth day, the borrower is notified that the facility is now overdue.
- After the due date the borrower shall not be eligible to apply for any other facility with the Fund until the outstanding loan is fully paid.
- Overdue reminders shall be sent every 5 days up to a maximum of 30 days.
- Via USSD dial *254#
- Select Loans
- Check Loan Status
- Select Loan balance
- Enter Mobile Money PIN
- You will receive an SMS message with your Loan balance
On App
- This will be displayed on the Hustler Fund app with an option to hide or unhide
- The borrower may re-pay the loan in full or in part provided that the full repayment is done within 14 days.
- 15 days after the date of default the interest rate will be adjusted to 9.5% per annum.
- Thereafter persistent default spanning 30 days and over will see you lose your existing credit score and your account frozen.
- Interest continues to accrue pegged on the in-duplum rule and recovery methods will be initiated.
No. This charge is a penalty to the fund administrators from abusing the monies set aside for the beneficiaries of the fund.
- Customers will earn interest of up to 9% p.a. on their short-term savings balance
- Government will match contribution on a 2:1 ratio up to a maximum of Ksh.6,000 per annum
Two ways of savings
- When you request a loan
- Deposit /sending directly to your savings from your Mobile Money wallet
Please note in both instances the 70% and 30% split will apply i.e., 70% of the amount will be deposited into long-term savings (pension scheme) and 30% into short-term savings.
- Customer can only access the short-term savings
- To access your short-term savings:
- Customer must have cleared repaying their full loan or
- Repay 30% of the loan borrowed
- Example: If Customer borrowed Ksh 1,000, they should have repaid Ksh 300 (30%*1,000)
- 5% of your loan will go into your Savings as below:
- 70% of the 5% will go into long term Savings (Pension) and 30% of the 5% will go into short term savings
- g., if you borrow Ksh 1,000 Ksh 50 i.e. (5% *1,000) will go into your savings as below
- Ksh 35 (70% *50) – Will go to your pension account that is within the Hustler Fund
- Ksh 15 (30% * 50) – Will go into your short-term savings account that is within the Hustler Fund.
Using USSD:
- Customer will dial *254#
- Select the option for Savings
- Select Check Balance
- Enter Mobile Money PIN
- You will receive an SMS message with your Loan balance
On App
- This will be displayed on the Hustler Fund app with an option to hide or unhide
- You will get a mini statement that shows the last 5 transactions
- You can access this either through the App or USSD under savings
- You can opt-out of the Hustler funds loan, but you will still have the option to continue saving on the service
- You can do any number of deposits into your savings
- You can deposit any amount into your savings
- No limit on the number of times you can withdraw so long as you have the amount available
- Your savings will still be available, and you will be able to view and continue saving.
