The Hustler Fund is a credit facility brought to Kenyans by the Kenya Kwanza government. Launched by the government and facilitated by private sector partners, the fund has seen significant uptake.
While giving a TV interview, Safaricom’s CEO Peter Ndegwa, was quick to point out the success of the Hustler Fund through its M-Pesa platform.
Indeed, the credit facility has brought back customers who had not been using M-Pesa back.
The CEO said: “On the Hustler Fund we have seen a significant success, more than 24 billion borrowed by 15 million customers. We have seen 2 million people who were not interacting with M-Pesa coming back into M-Pesa and actually borrowing.”
In addition, 6 to 7 million customers are borrowing from the fund regularly. Evidently, this shows the value accessible credit adds to Safaricom’s customers.
A Decline in Fuliza Revenue
Since making Fuliza Cheaper for its customers, Safaricom has witnessed a decline in revenue. However, this has been met with an increase in usage.
Without a doubt, Safaricom is banking on the long-term value of making its overdraft facility affordable. Despite these numbers, the CEO added that the need for affordable credit has yet to be satisfied.
The CEO was persitent in demonstrating how the telco is keen on creating value for its customers. For instance, he pointed out that Safaricom has reduced the prices of data by 70% since 2020.
Furthermore, the company has been improving the quality of its network.
“If you look at data pricing, we have reduced data pricing since 2020 by 70%. From about 22.6 Kenya cents per MB to about 6.7 “said Mr. Ndegwa
He added: “All our sites have 4G, which is very very important. We have accelerated the purchase of 4G phones, because actual experience depends on the handset you have, through Lipa Mdogo Mdogo”
