The Kenyan government has hinted at working with Metropol Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB) in the near future to better the loan servicing condition at the Hustler Fund.
This is according to the Corporative and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui who spoke to Citizen TV.
The reason why the Kenya Kwanza has not procured Metropol CRB for credit scoring while issuing Hustler Fund loans is because the CS thinks it’s a bit early to incorporate the bureau.
He said the fund was initiated 18 months following the victory of William Ruto as the President – and they need time to put in a framework before onboarding CRBs.
“We haven’t reached there because we are only 18 months old. It is a product we are developing but ultimately we believe we will have the largest information on Credit Bureau,” said CS Chelugui.
CRB is an entity licensed to collect and collate credit information on individuals and businesses from different sources and provide that information upon request mainly by credit providers in the form of a credit report.
But Chelugui dismissed claims that the government turned down a partnership with CRBs, and said CRBs will be granted permission to collect data from the Fund borrowers in the next couple of months.
“We believe in the next two years we can still deepen information from these hustlers and as I speak to you, we are engaged with CRB to develop a scoring tool for them,” the CS clarified.
Fund’s Daunting Report
Hustler Fund has not been using CRBs to collate credit information, pointing to the discrepancies that have been reported by the Auditor General Dr. Nancy Gathungu.
Also Read: Metropol CRB pilots credit rating as loaning reference
In her detailed report, Dr. Gathungu revealed doubts surrounding the recovery process from exchange transactions in the Fund.
The report shows 17,855,858 beneficiaries applied for loans, amounting to a Ksh.32,015,962,276 of total loans offered.
However, a substantial balance of Ksh.10,950,075,614 remained unpaid as of June 2023, including interest receivable and loans outstanding.
A review of balances across multiple bank accounts and mobile network operators linked to the fund was also conducted.
Dr. Gathungu revealed that Ksh.259,026,553 held by service providers could not be confirmed due to inadequate documentation provided by the fund’s management.
Further scrutiny revealed the fund exceeded its set limits in loan disbursements.
AG identified 238,707 cases where loans totaling Ksh.420,312,323 were issued, surpassing the initial limit by Ksh.219,615,242.
Since its inception, Hustler Fund has had 2 million borrowers who have demonstrated good credit status and borrowed over 10 times – according to Chelugui.
“The scoring tool CRB have could be very high because one, the way they structured their scoring is mostly from banks or big financial institutions.”
Metropol CRB
Metropol CRB provides user-friendly options for individuals to access credit information, including their Credit Score and full credit profile.
With a USSD code *433# an individual can request their Credit Report or download the Crystobol app from the Google Play Store.
Customers also have the option of visiting crystobol.metropol.co.ke for seamless access to Metropol CRB services.
Metropol has reinforced its position as a trusted brand in East Africa, by providing individuals with the tools to understand and manage their credit.
