Principal Secretary for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Susan Mang’eni has challenged former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s criticism of the Hustler Fund, using figures from Nyeri County to demonstrate what she described as the programme’s reach.
Mang’eni responded on Tuesday, August 11, shortly after Gachagua questioned the impact of the Financial Inclusion Fund during a press briefing in Nairobi.
Gachagua had dismissed the Hustler Fund as a “lost cause” and questioned whether ordinary Kenyans had expanded their businesses using loans obtained through the programme.
However, Mang’eni said the figures from Nyeri presented a different picture, arguing that hundreds of thousands of residents had accessed the facility.
“This afternoon, Rigathi Gachagua made sensational claims about the Financial Inclusion Fund - Hustler Fund. It is important to set the record straight, using Nyeri County as an example,” Mang’eni said.
According to the PS, about 420,000 Kenyans in Nyeri County have accessed the Hustler Fund to date, borrowing a cumulative KSh1.88 billion.
She noted that the number represents more than half of Nyeri County’s population, suggesting that the programme has achieved significant reach among residents.
Mang’eni further highlighted individual borrowing figures, saying the top borrower in Nyeri had cumulatively accessed KSh2.06 million through the fund.
In Mathira Constituency, she said, the leading borrower had accessed KSh648,000, while the top borrower in Ruguru Ward had borrowed KSh584,000.
The figures were presented as a counter to Gachagua’s assertion that the small loans offered through the programme had failed to provide meaningful support to Kenyans seeking to improve their livelihoods.
The PS also pointed to repayment rates as another indicator of the fund’s performance.
She said Nyeri currently has the highest Hustler Fund repayment rate in the country at 88 per cent. Murang’a, Kiambu and Nairobi follow closely, each recording a repayment rate of 87 per cent, according to the figures she cited.
Mang’eni questioned the basis of Gachagua’s assessment of the programme, ending her response with the rhetorical phrase, “Huyu anaskiza ground gani?”—loosely translated as, “Which ground is he listening to?”
Her response comes amid renewed political debate over the government’s economic programmes and whether initiatives introduced under President William Ruto have delivered tangible benefits to ordinary Kenyans.
Gachagua, who has increasingly criticised the Ruto administration since leaving government, has argued that the government should reconsider programmes that he believes have failed to deliver meaningful economic relief.