Hustler Funds are here, and as promised by President William Ruto, Kenyans can now access them to boost their businesses/personal lives.
The kitty tops up at KES 50 billion and is offered for personal loans, and for micro-enterprises and SMEs.
As you may have noticed, the Fund is accessed via mobile money deposits.
To this end, customers have the option to use M-PESA, Telkom Kenya’s T-Kash, and Airtel Money.
There is no other access channel besides the three, although it would have been better if borrowers were allowed to choose other methods such as bank deposits.
The Fund is also being given to interested Kenyans thanks to its partnership with lender KCB.
KCB also has a stake in other products such as Fuliza. It also has a stand-alone product within M-PESA called KCB M-PESA.
Access
To register, you can use both with the code being *254# on all networks.
You will be prompted to accept the terms and conditions and then requested to enter your mobile money PIN such as your MPESA Pin if you use a Safaricom line.
Once you complete, you’ll wait for confirmation with a text sent to the mobile number you have registered for the fund alerting you if you have successfully been registered.
You will then be given a borrowing limit. The waiting period can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Alternatively, you can open the MPESA App and on the bottom navigation tab, tap on the Services icon and tap the Finance icon on the top right corner of the app.
The Hustler Fund icon will be among the first mini-programs displayed.
Tap on it to register and wait to see if your registration is successful.
You will also know via text if you weren’t successful with your registration.
The funds are offered with an 8% interest rate per annum.
If you default on repaying your loan, you won’t be listed on the CRB and you can reborrow.
The loans can be prepared at once or in installments.
Personal loans range from KES 500 to KES 50,000 while loans for Chamas start at KES 50,000 to KES 250,000 and groups have a KES10 million limit.
To be eligible, you’ll have to be:
- 18 years old
- A permanent Kenyan resident
- Belong to duly registered Chamas, SACCOS
The loans need to be prepared within 14 days and the interest rate goes up to 9.5% per annum after 15 more days without repaying.
The loans need to be prepared within 14 days and the interest rate goes up to 9.5% per annum after 15 more days without repaying.
The fund will freeze your account if go 30 days without paying your loan.
Terms and Conditions
- The Hustler Fund Savings and loan product shall have a savings component. 5% of the loan advanced shall be deducted to go toward savings. 30% of the Savings Deduction shall be applied to a savings account. 70% of the Savings Deduction will be applied towards the customer’s pension.
- If the loan has been fully repaid, the Customer shall only be entitled to access the short-term savings after 365 days from date of disbursement of the loan.
- In the event of default by the customer (non-payment within fourteen (14) days from the date of disbursement), interest will accrue at the rate of 9.5% p.a. with effect from the 15th day.
- If the customer fails to by the 30th day from the date of disbursement, the customer’s credit rating may be reviewed by the Fund which may result in a review of the customer’s assigned credit limit.
- The interest applied on the loan shall accrue daily from the date of loan disbursement until the 365th day, or such other earlier date upon which the loan may have been fully repaid. Repay.
- You may request for a statement or activity report in respect of your funds within you mobile money wallet through the applicable mobile money channels and menu.
- Applicable tariffs will be charged by your telephone and internet service provider(s) when communicating with the Customer Care Centre (SMS 22522).
- Telcos will collect certain personal information for compliance with their legal and contractual obligations.
FAQ
Does the *254# code charge customers? The answer is no because it is zero-rated.
There are no transaction costs for receiving the loan into your mobile wallet or when you repay the loan.
Why is the M-PESA PIN (mobile money PIN) needed? Well, it is required to authenticate the owner of the wallet where the loan will be disbursed. All data privacy rules are applied and the PIN is not shared with anyone.
Lastly, what if you have Fuliza?
Fuliza will be suspended for up to 24 hours to ensure you are able to utilize the Hustler Fund first. However, any other funds outside Hustler Funds received into the same mobile wallet during this period (24 hours) will be used to repay any existing Fuliza overdraft.
