FALSE: Photo does not show the drought situation in Embolioi, Kajiado County, in October 2022
An applicant does not need any form of collateral to apply for the Hustler Fund loan.
There is a claim that for one to access the Hustler Fund loan, one needs to provide collateral to be eligible for the fund. “Jefwa Yaa” through his Twitter account posted the claim that one needs to provide collateral to access the Hustler Fund.
One of President Ruto’s promises during the campaigns was the Hustler Fund project. The fund will officially be launched on 1st December 2022. There is an ongoing conversation in the country about the rollout of the funds.
Ruben FM looked into the claim that one will be required to provide collateral to access the Hustler Fund.
There are guidelines that stipulate how to access the loan for an individual, a group, SMEs, and cooperatives. According to treasury Citizen D news websites:
For an individual borrowing the amount which is set between Ksh500-50,000, individuals must be above 18 years, and a Kenyan citizen to qualify for the loans that will be charged under single-digit interest. The applicant should be a holder of a KRA PIN and certificate of good conduct with a residential address, must have four guarantors and have a bank account with National Bank or Kenya Commercial Bank. The individual will also have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
For a micro, small and medium enterprise, Sacco Societies, Chama, group, table banking group or any other association interested in the fund which ranges from Ksh50,000-250,000, the requirements are; All the members must have a national ID, the group should be registered by the relevant institution and all its members must be permanent residents of Kenya. Each group member must have a certificate of good conduct and must fulfill any other conditions as may be required by the board.
Therefore, no collateral is needed to be eligible for the Hustler Fund. President Ruto also reiterated the same message in his 17th November 2022 speech;
‘…..Our aim is to change the collateral infrastructure in the borrowing space, it is not necessary to have a title deed to borrow ”.
As such, the claim that one needs collateral to access the Hustler Fund loan is false and misleading
This fact check was published by Ruben FM with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and African Fact-Checking Alliance.