Barely a day after President William Ruto launched the Hustler Fund, Kenyans have borrowed more than Ksh.408 million from the Kitty.
Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and MSMEs Simon Chelugui, who released the figures Thursday morning, said that Transactions Per Second had fallen to 190, down from 500 on the day of launch.
The CS added that more than 1.4 million Kenyans had registered to the fund by Thursday.
Despite the high rate of uptake, most Kenyans have expressed dissatisfaction with the loan due to a number of factors, the key one being the low loan limit.
Read: You Have 14 Days To Repay Hustler Fund Loan If You Borrow
According to most beneficiaries to spoke to TheSharpDaily, the limit ranges between Ksh.500 and 800, which they say is too little and negates the very aim of the fund, which is to help Kenyans start small businesses.
Besides the low limit, most hustlers have not received confirmation of the loan limit, despite applying several times.
According to a distraught hustler who spoke to TheSharpDaily on condition of anonymity, he tried registering for the loan right after the launch, but he is yet to feedback.
Using his Safaricom line, he is informed that he should receive a message with the loan limit after 2 hours every time he registers.
The repayment period, 14 days after the date of disbursement, is another bone of contention for most hustlers.
Read: How To Apply For Hustler Fund In Simple Steps
A number of them anticipated taking loans and starting businesses, which is not possible if they have to repay the amount in 14 days.
Logically, it is impossible for a business to start and make profits capable of repaying the debt in 14 days’ time.
Therefore, there might be more than meets the eye in the Hustler Fund since the current terms and policies around it seem to not be aimed towards enhancing investments among the targetted borrowers.
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