By Kenyans
The World Bank, through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is undertaking an impact assessment of the Hustler Fund to establish how the credit programme has helped Kenyans.
The assessment will provide a comprehensive picture of the fund’s impact, with both quantitative and qualitative aspects examined to determine how beneficiaries have used the loan and saved.
Speaking during an interview on NTV on Tuesday, September 1, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni said the World Bank had begun conducting the assessment, with the report expected by the end of 2026.
“Recently, the World Bank came in with the support of IFC, and they have been undertaking a quantitative assessment of the fund and an impact assessment of the fund,” Mang’eni said.
The latest World Bank assessment comes about three years after the Bretton Woods institution pledged full support for the government-backed credit programme.
In 2023, the bank’s representatives led a consultative meeting with President William Ruto to discuss ways of supporting the Hustler Fund to empower vulnerable Kenyans.
World Bank Regional Vice President for Eastern Africa, Victoria Kwakwa, said the lender would provide technical and financial support to the Hustler Fund and other government-backed lending programmes.
“The bank associates strongly with programmes and initiatives that empower the poor and most vulnerable. We will bring to the table ways to provide a safety net for these individuals,” she said.
At the time, Ruto acknowledged the World Bank’s role in Kenya’s development and called for increased investment in programmes to improve agricultural productivity.
Meanwhile, the latest assessment comes as the government claims the Hustler Fund has reached about 28 million Kenyans since its establishment, with close to 10 million borrowers now using the facility regularly.
According to Mang’eni, the data generated through the programme has enabled the government to establish borrowing patterns and develop a behavioural credit-rating system for beneficiaries.
The PS disclosed that the system rates borrowers from A1 to C3, with A representing the highest category, based on their borrowing and repayment behaviour.
“Today, we have a behavioural rating system. Today, if you dial *254# and sign up, you are rated A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3. Of course, with A being the top rating, and C, B, you’re really doing well,” she said.
Mang’eni further noted that the initiative was designed to improve financial inclusion by making low-income Kenyans more visible within the formal credit system.
The PS noted that at the time the programme was introduced, millions of Kenyans had been negatively listed with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), but insisted that the trajectory had since changed, with more Kenyans now positively listed.
Beyond lending, the World Bank-backed assessment will also examine the fund’s savings component, which the government says has accumulated more than Ksh7 billion in short- and long-term savings over nearly three years.