Hustler Fund Repayment Rates Impress as Digital Lender Count Hits 300

Kenya now has 300 digital lending platforms operating within its borders — a number that has doubled in just two years and that the Central Bank of Kenya says is generating both financial inclusion gains and serious over-indebtedness risks among low-income borrowers.

Against this crowded backdrop, Cooperatives CS Simon Oparanya chose to highlight an outlier: the government's own Hustler Fund, launched by President Ruto as a flagship poverty reduction tool, has recorded repayment rates that Oparanya described as "a revelation." Speaking at a Nairobi business forum, he said over 78 percent of Hustler Fund borrowers had successfully repaid their loans — a figure that outperforms most digital lenders in the market.

"When we started, people said Kenyans would not repay. That this would be a political giveaway. The numbers tell a different story," Oparanya said. "Hustler Fund is proving that small borrowers are good borrowers when the terms are fair and transparent."

The fund has disbursed over Ksh70 billion since its November 2022 launch, targeting boda boda operators, mama mbogas, jua kali artisans and small traders who had previously been locked out of formal credit. Average loan size remains small — around Ksh5,000 — but for the target demographic, access to emergency credit without the predatory rates of loan sharks is transformative.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data released this month shows that much of the digital lending boom — both from Hustler Fund and private platforms — is going toward consumption rather than investment: food, school fees, medical bills and rent emergencies. Economists say this signals that household incomes remain under pressure and that the credit is serving as a buffer against poverty rather than a springboard out of it.

CBK Governor Kamau Thugge has called for stronger regulation of digital lenders, saying the sector's rapid growth has outpaced the authority's supervisory capacity. New regulations expected in Q4 2026 will require all platforms to report to the Credit Reference Bureau and cap annual percentage rates at 36 percent.