Financial Inclusion Fund famously known as the “Hustlers fund” is set to be launched by President William Ruto on November 30, 2022.
The fund which President William Ruto provided policy guidance for to be established under the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, particularly under section 24 of the Act, will target mainly the informal and unstructured business enterprises that are not currently attractive to the mainstream financial institutions.
The establishment and implementation of the fund was approved by the cabinet during its second meeting with the president at the state house on Tuesday.
According to the Director of Planning at the National Treasury Samuel Kiiru, there are so far 28 regulations that have been published and posted on the website by the Treasury and the Ministry of Cooperatives.
Kiiru said the regulations will only be complete after the public has provided their input which will, later on, be published on the government’s printer.
“The fund is expected to provide Kenyans at the bottom of the pyramid with affordable working capital and hence protect them from predatory lenders,” he said.
The creditors have been assured of safety from being listed to CRB or even jailed in a case one genuinely fails to repay the loan.
The ‘hustlers’ will be able to borrow as low as Sh.500 and a maximum limit of up to Sh50, 000 as determined by the lender’s qualifications.
The loan interest will be capped at eight percent per year and computed on a pro-rated basis.
A task force was formed to collect public views across the country to refine the regulations further and develop a legal framework to improve the fund.
The fund will benefit Kenyans above 18 years.