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Ruto: Hustler fund to have Shariah-compliant component for Muslims

President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during an Iftar dinner at the State House in Nairobi on April 8, 2024. (Photo: PCS)

By Eastleigh Voice Reporter | Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Muslim leaders had earlier expressed concerns that the Hustler fund is not Muslim friendly.

President William Ruto on Monday announced that the Hustler Fund will have a compliant component which will aid Muslims access the fund.

The President made this announcement during an Iftar dinner at State House, Nairobi.

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“The Hustler fund will soon have a Shariah-compliant component to enable the Muslim community to benefit from the fund, he said.

The Hustler Fund is a digital financial inclusion initiative designed to improve financial access to responsible finance for personal, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya.

However, not all Kenyans including Muslims can access the funds due to religious hurdles the new administration had not taken into account.

Muslim leaders had earlier expressed concerns that the Hustler fund is not Muslim friendly as a significant proportion of the fund charges are Riba (Interest) which is against Islamic laws and Muslims should refrain from going for the Hustler fund as it is haram.

Shariah rules

The payment of interest and the receipt of interest payments are considered to be contrary to Islamic Sharia rules.

Riba is an Arabic word that means “to increase” or “to exceed” and is commonly used in reference to unequal exchanges or charges and fees for borrowing.

Interest is deemed as Riba, or an unjust, exploitative gain and such practices are forbidden under Islamic law.

On the other hand, Riba is a concept in Islamic banking that refers to charged interest.

It has also been referred to as usury or the charging of unreasonably high interest rates.

Hustler Fund loan term is fourteen (14) days and interest is charged at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.

Interest is accrued daily until repayment in full within fourteen (14) days.

President Ruto during the launch of the Hustler Fund on November 30, 2022, said loan defaulters will not be listed on CRBs, but measures will be put in place to recover the loan amount.