Equity Bank Kenya Limited has said it is mulling reserving up to Sh250 billion for on-lending to boost the government’s Hustler Fund by fivefold.

This is according to Equity Group Managing Director James Mwangi, who said Equity Group will offer ticket loans to borrowers eligible for the Hustler Fund and show proof of their potential to repay the loans.

Mwangi said Equity has offered to upscale the Hustler Fund by a fivefold repayment scheme in which if a borrower repays the fund twice they will be eligible to receive loans from Equity and have a loan limit of up to Sh150,000.

“We have offered to scale the Hustler Fund by fivefold to Sh250 billion. When one pays two times, we will graduate them to Equity lending and have a loan limit at Sh150,000,” Mwangi said.

The intended loan facility aligns with Equity Group’s renewal goal, which aims at disbursing more loans to the private sector.

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Mwangi lauded the Hustler Fund's intentions, which include a saving component and lowering borrower risk through loan limits ranking and credit scoring.

“For the first time, the government has a fund that brings financial discipline and more importantly, the component that excites us is the savings component,” Mwangi said.

This comes just a week ahead of the official launch of the Hustler Fund, which is scheduled for Wednesday next week.