Hustler Fund borrowers will be able to access bigger loans as the government adopts a credit rating system to enhance the facility’s capacity and effectiveness in the next phase.

President William Ruto says the establishment of the Hustler Fund behavioral credit rating system will boost access to credit by borrowers who repay within the postulated 14 days.

He spoke at the fund’s second anniversary at KICC, Nairobi, where he unveiled the Bridge Loan, which allows Kenyans to borrow bigger loans and repay over a longer period of time.

The credit rating system allocates all Hustler Fund borrowers a score ranging from A1 (Very good) to C3 (Very poor) with nine bands: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2 and C3 to show creditworthiness.

He revealed that more than two million borrowers had demonstrated good borrowing behavior hence will qualify to access higher loan limits based on their creditworthiness.

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The Head of State indicated that the adopted credit score system will be automatically adjusted to each beneficiary's borrowing pattern to ensure transparency in the process.

“You don't have to know the chief, the Principal Secretary, or the President to get a good credit rating - all you need is your phone,” stated Ruto.

Ruto asked banks and other financial institutions to use data from the Hustler Fund credit score to assess the creditworthiness of their clients who have taken loans from the Fund.

He added that the Bridge Loan will transition good Hustler Fund borrowers to the mainstream financial sector to foster their relationships with banks and others.

The Hustler Fund interest rate will remain 8 per cent per annum with the loan’s repayment period now also increased from 14 to 30 days as many Kenyan borrowers had requested.

“Good borrowers will be able to triple their credit limits,” he revealed.

In its two years of existence, Hustler Fund has created credit profiles of 24.7 million Kenyans who accessed its inaugural personal loan product, which disbursed more than Sh60 billion.

Similarly, borrowers saved Sh3.4 billion in mandatory savings of 5 per cent per of their loan, with 70 per cent going to long-term savings and 30 per cent went to short-term saving.

The long-term Hustler Fund savings will now be managed by the Kenya National Entrepreneurs Savings Trust, a government pension scheme for Kenyans in the informal sector.