Мировой банк начал оценку эффективности программы Hustler Fund в Кении

The World Bank, working through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has started an impact assessment of the Hustler Fund to determine how the credit programme has benefited Kenyans. The assessment will deliver a detailed account of the fund’s overall impact, including both quantitative and qualitative findings. It will examine how beneficiaries use the loans and how they build savings over time. Speaking to NTV on Tuesday, September 1, Cooperatives Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni said the World Bank has begun the study, with the final report expected by the end of 2026. She noted that the assessment will cover both the fund’s measurable effects and its broader impact. “Recently, the World Bank came in with the support of IFC, and they have been undertaking a quantitative assessment of the fund and an impact assessment of the fund,” Mang’eni said. The World Bank’s latest assessment arrives about three years after the institution pledged full support for the government-backed credit programme. In 2023, the bank’s representatives met with President William Ruto to discuss additional ways to strengthen the Hustler Fund and help empower vulnerable Kenyans. World Bank Regional Vice President for Eastern Africa, Victoria Kwakwa, said the lender would offer both technical and financial support to the Hustler Fund and other government-backed lending initiatives. “The bank associates strongly with programmes and initiatives that empower the poor and most vulnerable. We will bring to the table ways to provide a safety net for these individuals,” she said. Mang’eni said the data produced through the programme has helped the government identify borrowing patterns and build a behavioural credit-rating system for beneficiaries. She explained that the system scores borrowers from A1 to C3, where A represents the highest category, depending on their borrowing and repayment behaviour. “Today, we have a behavioural rating system. Today, if you dial *254# and sign up, you are rated A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3. Of course, with A being the top rating and C, B, you’re really doing well,” she said. Mang’eni added that the initiative aims to expand financial inclusion by giving low-income Kenyans visibility within the formal credit system. The PS said that when the programme launched, millions of Kenyans had been blacklisted with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB). She added that the situation has since improved, noting that more Kenyans now appear on the bureau’s positive listings. Beyond measuring lending outcomes, the World Bank-backed assessment will also review the fund’s savings component. The government said the savings window has grown to more than Ksh7 billion in both short- and long-term deposits over nearly three years.