Govt hits back at Gachagua’s ‘lost cause’ claim, cites Hustler Fund uptake in Nyeri
The State Department said Tuesday that 420,000 Kenyans in Nyeri County have acces the Fund borrowing a cumulative Sh1.88 billion.
The State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has defended the Hustler Fund against former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s comment that it is a "lost cause". The department highlighted high uptake and repayment rates in Gachagua's home county of Nyeri, where 420,000 Kenyans have accessed a combined Sh1.88 billion in loans from the Financial Inclusion Fund.
Gachagua, who hails from Nyeri, had criticized the Kenya Kwanza administration's program, calling it ineffective and suggesting the loans were too small to support sustainable businesses. The department noted that the top borrower in Nyeri had accessed Sh2.06 million, with a top borrower in Mathira Constituency borrowing Sh648,000 and another in Ruguru Ward taking out Sh584,000.
Nyeri also boasted the highest Hustler Fund repayment rate in the country at 88%, compared to 87% in Murang'a, Kiambu, and Nairobi. Gachagua's criticism came amid ongoing concerns over repayment, with the fund having disbursed over Sh83 billion and repaid about Sh71 billion by March, resulting in a default rate of around 15%.
Written by urgent.news from Capital FM Kenya's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
