The Hustler Fund has introduced a business mentorship scheme called Tukuze Hub in Nyeri County, offering selected borrowers free training to strengthen and grow their small enterprises.
The programme is being delivered jointly by the Hustler Fund, Strathmore University Business School and the African Management Institute (AMI).
Henry Tanui, chief executive officer of the Hustler Fund, said the initiative follows a pilot in Mombasa County launched in July and signals a move from merely providing loans to fostering sustainable businesses and job creation.
“We have heard of beneficiaries who have given their testimonies that they have created jobs and who have demonstrated that it is possible to create a job within our ecosystem, using KSh500. And we have also heard about their long-term plans, where some want to be manufacturers and some want to be exporters, so we want to change the story into sustainability and job creation,” Tanui said.
Nyeri was selected because 400,000 residents have borrowed a total of KSh1.84 billion from the revolving fund over the past four years and the county has achieved a repayment rate of about 91 per cent.
By October 7, the Fund had disbursed KSh92 billion in loans, of which more than KSh78 billion had been repaid, and borrowers had saved KSh7 billion through the scheme.
Tanui added that the Fund is developing a system that would allow the government to use borrowing data to create a national credit rating for Kenyans with good repayment histories.
Jennifer Kiiru, project director at Strathmore University Business School’s Africa Economic Development Hub, said the partnership will give beneficiaries a platform for customised one-on-one advisory and help them develop action plans to boost revenue and expand operations.
“What is unique about this model is that we curate the solutions with them. We walk the journey with them, and then we also get to the point where they are ready to go to the next level. By that time we will have capacitated them enough to be able to work on their own,” Kiiru said.
Rebecca Harrison, chief executive officer of AMI, explained that the six-month training will combine digital learning with hands-on mentorship in cohort groups, covering business planning, customer acquisition, financial management, systems and employee management.
“We will use that cohort-based approach, where we help businesses understand what they need to focus on specifically. Our learners will have access to an online technology platform, but we put them in groups because we know that entrepreneurs love learning from other entrepreneurs. Then we give them practical tools to help them implement what they know they need to do in their business,” Harrison said.
Nyeri County Commissioner Josephat Biwott welcomed the programme, noting that borrowers have shown how Hustler Fund credit can improve livelihoods, and urged participants to apply the new skills while discouraging the politicisation of development projects.
