The State Department for MSMEs Development said it will run a pilot that analyses repayment behaviour across banks, Saccos, mobile lenders and other financial institutions to decide who qualifies for higher Hustler Fund limits.

The pilot targets an estimated ten million repeat borrowers, aiming to move them from small digital loans to larger, formal‑sector credit.

Principal Secretary for MSMEs Susan Mang'eni noted that the government is working with banks, the Africa Guarantee Fund and credit reference bureaus to build behavioural credit ratings from this broader data set.

How the Hustler Fund’s credit system has evolved

In December 2024 the Fund introduced the Bridge Loan product, which grouped borrowers into nine credit‑score tiers based on their own borrowing and repayment patterns, allowing top‑rated users to borrow up to three times their existing limit at an 8 percent annual rate.

Since launch, more than eight million borrowers have been listed by credit reference bureaus, and the administration says 4.5 million have earned A or B ratings through consistent repayment.

Commercial banks have already used the Fund’s data; KCB Group reported a 30 percent rise in mobile lending in 2025, attributing part of the growth to the credit‑scoring infrastructure built around the Hustler Fund.

Potential benefits for borrowers and lenders

If the pilot works, repayment histories with banks, Saccos and mobile lenders could become a key factor in determining loan size, encouraging broader financial inclusion.

The government hopes the new scoring will help address a decline in annual lending to women, youth and people with disabilities, which fell from Sh22.27 billion in 2023/24 to Sh16.52 billion in 2025/26.

Stakeholder collaboration and next steps

The State Department is coordinating with the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya Bankers Association, credit reference bureaus, Safaricom, Sacco regulators and other industry players to design a consent‑based framework for sharing alternative data.