Hustler Fund borrowers can now use Safaricom Bonga Points to repay State-backed loans as the government seeks to improve collections amid rising defaults.
The Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF), popularly known as the Hustler Fund, has notified borrowers via text messages that they can now clear outstanding loans using Safaricom's loyalty points.
The new repayment option comes as the fund grapples with a 15 percent default rate, equivalent to Sh12.5 billion, as of March.
Fund Chief Executive Officer Henry Tanui said the initiative had already recovered Sh3 million within its first week.
"The idea is that if there are other convenient options for borrowers to repay, then we should make them available," Mr Tanui told Business Daily.
A spot check shows that five Bonga Points are currently equivalent to Sh1, meaning a borrower would need about 2,500 points to repay a Sh500 Hustler Fund loan. Safaricom, however, says the value of Bonga Points is not fixed and depends on historical redemption patterns.
The telecom operator's latest annual report shows customers held Bonga Points worth Sh3.6 billion as of March 2026.
The repayment initiative is part of broader efforts to strengthen loan recoveries after the Treasury stopped allocating fresh funding to the Hustler Fund in the current financial year, signalling a shift towards making the scheme self-sustaining.
Government support has steadily declined from Sh20 billion at the fund's launch to Sh300 million in the financial year ended June 2026.
By March this year, the fund had disbursed Sh83 billion in loans, of which Sh71 billion had been repaid, according to the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
The scheme has also come under scrutiny from the Auditor-General, who reported that 104,631 loans worth Sh116.5 million were issued to borrowers whose national identity card numbers were missing from the customer database, raising concerns over credit assessment and verification controls.
Launched by the Kenya Kwanza administration, the Hustler Fund aims to expand access to affordable credit for borrowers excluded from formal banking. Authorities continue to encourage prompt repayment by linking it to higher borrowing limits.
