A new report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has raised significant concerns about the Kenyan government’s flagship Hustler Fund, labeling it a loss-making scheme. The report, titled ‘Failing the Hustlers’, indicates an alarmingly high default rate and questions the fund's actual impact on economic empowerment.

• For every Sh500 loaned through the Hustler Fund, an estimated Sh340 is lost due to a 68.3 percent default rate.
• The KHRC states that despite over Sh53 billion having been disbursed by September 2024 (as per the report's findings), there is no measurable impact on enterprise development or job creation.
• The report estimates the true cost of the fund to taxpayers to be 71.5 percent, factoring in the high default rate, government borrowing costs through Treasury bills, and a 3 percent operational cost.