A message being circulated on various WhatsApp groups bears a that redirects you to a page supposedly with details to register for phase one of the Hustler Fund individual loans.
Background
President William Ruto launched the Hustler Fund on November 30, 2022. The fund was set up to deliver Kenyans from the shackles of predatory lenders. Credit is now being provided through four products: personal finance, microloans, small and medium-sized enterprise loans, and start-up loans. Interested parties can now access the loans through their mobile phone-based money platforms. The fund allows borrowers to access between Sh500 and Sh50,000 at an interest rate of 8%. A total of Sh2.9 billion has already been disbursed since the fund was launched. Simon Chelugui; the cabinet secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development reported that 129 million had been repaid by Saturday and that borrowers have saved Sh147 million thus far accounting for 5% of the total amount borrowed so far.
Verification
The link on the post redirects you to a page titled Hustler Fund Individual Loans. The page bears the United Democratic Alliance party colors at the top and this would lead many to believe that it is legitimate. A Google Form is attached on the page that begins with asking for your email address, after filling this part the following page outlines the requirements for one to be eligible for the loan and the terms of repayment. It further claims that one is required to deposit Sh350 to the KCB account or M-Pesa details shared. The amount is an application fee that will facilitate the checking of your loan limit.
Verification
Co-operative and Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said that the fund does not have a processing fee. To those that create fake websites seeking to defraud people of their money, he warned that regulations set up to penalize those that misappropriate the funds apply to them.
According to the results generated from a WhoIs search, the website’s registrar is Libyan Spider Network, and the IP location is in New York. It also reveals that the website was started on August 15, 2018, this was long before Kenya Kwanza shared the Hustler Fund concept with the public.
Claims have previously been debunked by Piga Firimbi here and by PesaCheck here.
Verdict
The link supposedly bearing the requirements for legibility for the Hustler Fund is FAKE.
This fact check was published by Africa Uncensored with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and African Fact-Checking Alliance.
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