Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni has dismissed claims that funds have been lost through the Hustler Fund, insisting the programme is working as intended and meeting its core objectives.

Speaking during an interview with Radio Generation on Thursday, Mang’eni strongly pushed back against criticism that the fund has failed or suffered financial mismanagement. She said the claims of lost money are based on false assumptions and misrepresentation of facts.

“There’s no money which, there is nothing called lost. Have I declared a loss? Now the question is, have I declared?” she posed.

Her remarks come amid growing criticism following a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which claimed that Sh340 out of every Sh500 borrowed through the Hustler Fund has been lost.

The report, titled Failing the Hustlers, argued that the fund was riddled with flaws and suffered a high default rate, costing both borrowers and the state.

Mang’eni said the Hustler Fund, launched to address a gap in access to credit among millions of Kenyans, especially those without security or credit history, has already achieved key milestones since it began.

She pointed out that over Sh73 billion has been disbursed so far, reaching borrowers across the country, while more than Sh5 billion has been mobilised in savings.

The PS explained that for every loan taken, five percent is automatically channelled into savings, part of which is for long-term use and part for short-term withdrawal.

This savings model, she said, was deliberately included to promote financial discipline and prepare borrowers for retirement, even among those in informal sectors.

“If I borrow 100 bob, five shillings goes to saving. Seventy percent goes to your long term, which is tied to pension… and 30 percent then remains there, which then you can be withdrawing,” the PS  said.

Mang’eni added that the savings scheme under the Hustler Fund has not only helped in creating financial buffers for borrowers but has also promoted a culture of planning for the future.

“You earn interest at the end of the year. We want when you retire, even from being mama mboga, you can retire to some sort of dignity,” she said.

Her comments echo those made by President William Ruto, who also defended the Hustler Fund against calls for its dissolution. During a roundtable with the private sector, Ruto dismissed the KHRC report as misleading, saying the fund has delivered practical results for low-income earners.

“Our critics, the naysayers, the perpetual pessimists… would have you believe that the Hustler Fund is a total failure,” Ruto said. “To them, a micro-loan of Sh1,000 seems too small to matter.”

He stated that the fund’s loan recovery rate stands at 83.3 percent—comparable to that of formal banks—contrary to KHRC’s claim of a 60 percent default rate.

Refuting the idea that the fund is failing, the PS said the programme is actually meeting its objectives in three areas: rehabilitating borrowers who were locked out of the credit market, giving people their first experience with formal borrowing, and building a credible credit scoring system through behavioural data.

She noted that 9 million users are currently repeat borrowers, meaning they borrow regularly and are gradually building a borrowing history that can be translated into a scorecard.

“When we crystallise now this credit history, we crystallise it into some sort of a scorecard or behavioural rating,” she said.

Mang’eni encouraged Kenyans to check their personal rating on the Hustler Fund platform, saying, “If you’ve signed up to Hustler Fund, I want you to tell the listener, start *254#, select Hustler Fund on the platform, and let me know where your rating is.”

She said that the digital credit record being developed through the fund will eventually serve as a reference point for both lenders and borrowers, enabling more Kenyans to access better financial products without the need for traditional collateral.

The PS firmly reiterated that nothing has been lost, and that critics are ignoring the structure and long-term design of the programme. She called on the public to look at the data and evidence, rather than baseless claims