Nearly nine million Kenyans who defaulted on their Hustler Fund loans will be locked out of the government’s new youth empowerment initiative, the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
The announcement came as senior government officials fanned out across counties on Monday to promote the NYOTA project, a joint effort between the Government of Kenya and the World Bank aimed at funding youth-led enterprises.
Through NYOTA, the state hopes to support 100,000 small ventures run by young people. Each ward across the country will select 70 beneficiaries to receive KSh50,000 in grants.
But those who failed to repay their Hustler Fund loans — a microcredit scheme launched by President William Ruto’s administration in 2022 — will not be eligible.
At a sensitisation forum in Kajiado County, Irrigation Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho made the position clear.
“They are going to go through a long process of verification, which will start by applying,” Mr Kimotho said. “Those who have some debts with Hustler Fund may not qualify.”
He urged young people and persons with disabilities to seize the opportunity, adding that in Kajiado, 70 youths would be selected from each of the county’s 25 wards after vetting.
In Migori County, Social Protection Principal Secretary Joseph Motari delivered a similar message.
“You were not able to repay because you went away with money,” Mr Motari told residents. “Please clear your Hustler Fund — you have to be in good standing.”
The strict conditions reflect growing frustration within government circles over the rising default rate on the Hustler Fund, which was introduced to give low-income Kenyans access to affordable credit.
According to the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, unpaid Hustler Fund loans total around KSh5 billion.
Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni, who oversees the department, warned last month that those who had “deliberately refused” to pay would be barred from accessing future government financing, including new facilities under the Social Health Authority’s Lipa Pole Pole scheme.
Despite its setbacks, the Hustler Fund remains a key pillar of President Ruto’s economic agenda, built around the idea of uplifting what he calls the “hustler nation.”
But with NYOTA now taking centre stage, the government faces a delicate balancing act — ensuring accountability while still keeping faith with the millions of young Kenyans it promised to empower.
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