NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 30 – Kenyans will only need to dial *254# to access Hustlers Fund starting Thursday, following its official launch by President William Ruto
To be eligible for the fund, one must be a Kenyan citizen aged 18 years and above, with a valid Identification Card and Registered Mobile number with mobile network providers like Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom.
One will also be required to have a mobile money account that is either Mpesa, Airtel Money or Tkash, and the sim card must have been in use for more than 90 days.
The Hustlers Fund identifier is the ID number, hence one customer can not use more than one number to borrow.
Additionally, savings are secure even if a mobile device is lost because the Hustler Fund account is PIN-protected. Once the SIM card is replaced, access to the account will be restored.
The fund, launched on Wednesday, will offer four different products: start-up loans, micro-loans, SME loans, and personal loans.
With a 14-day repayment period and an annual interest rate of eight percent calculated per day, a customer who borrows KES500 will pay back KES 501.53 after 14 days, representing KES 1.53 in interest.
When a customer borrows, the approved loan is sent to their mobile money account, deposits 95 per cent of it in their money wallet, and places 5 percent of it in their savings account.
The five per cent that goes toward the savings plan is split into 30 per cent for short-term savings and 70 per cent for long-term (pension) savings.
If the loan is not paid back within 14 days, the customer’s credit rating is affected, and they are given an additional 15 days. If the loan is still not paid back, the interest rate increases to 9.5% per year.
The Hustler Fund account is frozen and the borrower loses all accumulated credit scores after more than 30 days of default.
There will be no Credit Reference Bureau listing in case the loan is defaulted, hence this default will not affect the person’s credit rating with other creditors.
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