Mohammed Hersi . A hotelier passionate about Tourism & Governance in Africa

Open letter to Hustler Nation Kenya

Dear Husler,

2022 kenyas general election campaign by eventual winners Kenya Kwanza made you the Husler Nation their theme and entire campaign was centered around you and it worked in your favour.

So who is a husler and what is hustling?

There are a number of negative images of hustling but … hard-working people are hustlers, too. Hustling, depending on your means and motivation, isn’t always a bad thing.

Hustling is itself an art form It’s earning or making something from seemingly nothing by maintaining the mindset of a go-getter. While hustling may get a bad rap from the criminal acts it’s often associated with, it’s not a crime. Hustlers don’t wait for success to come to them; they go out and get it for themselves. The President who considers himself Hustler 1 did not wait to be annoited but made it clear that he wanted to be the 5th President of the republic of Kenya which he finally achieved .

Firstly it was a good thing that a presidential candidate saw it fit to identify you as the centre of his campaign. Once they won they have also been focused to fast track the hustler fund and make it a reality. This is a clear pointer that H.E President Ruto is keen to keep his part of the bargain by setting up the fund and making it functional in his first 100 days.

I have been following keenly the words and statements coming from President Ruto and most of the issues follow the simply rule of SMART which has been lacking in past leadership.

✅Is it Specific?

✅Is it Measurable?

✅Is it Achievable?

✅Is it Realistic ?

✅Is it Time bound ?

The hustler fund meant for you is ticking all the boxes and President is very clear that by December this year the hustler fund will be up and running BUT it will not be free money. I like candor and straight talk. There is nowhere in the world where you just acess free money . The sad reality is that free things are never valued or appreciated.

I have seen people making fun of you the hustler nation about this fund in that you were lied to when it was finally made clear that you will borrow at less than 10% which is to help you move away from the digital shylocks and loan sharks. This fund will help you to stop your digital hide and seek of ” Usitume kwa hii namba nadaiwa” please don’t send on this number I owe some money “
In life free things don’t exist and it is NOT the way to kickstart an ailing economy. What the hustler fund is meant to achieve is to enable those of you who are willing and have a clear plan of what they want to do to get the chance to acess affordable credit.

My dear hustler let me illustrate why free things are never appreciated. A man wanted to get rid of his old sofa and placed it outside his house with a sign ” it’s free please take it ” and no one showed any interest. The following week he changed the sign to read ” Owner leaving offers invited reserve price £75″ guess what biders were falling over each other .

Back to your fund , we must create a working nation and that was mantra by President Kibaki. “Fanyeni Kazi”. He is one man who pushed Kenyans to go out and work and work hard . In return he provided the enabling environment. Kenyans by nature are not lazy , we are hardworking nation and we ain’t a nation that seeks handouts. Kenyans love working for themselves and 85% of our working population are found in the informal sector Aka hustler nation.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Thiba Dam in Kirinyaga, President said the Hustler Fund will help in lowering the cost of credit for small businesses, ensuring that everyone can borrow money at a reasonable rate and hence resolve the shortage of resources for managing small businesses in the country. Kenya Kwanza goverment has even put in place a specific department to handle cooperatives, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME), Chamas, and Saccos. There is even a mother ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ( MSMEs). It’s clear that the goverment side will be ready sooner than later .

Dear hustler you need to prepare your plan and prepare to receive and more importantly prepare yourself to payback what you borrowed so that the funds never run dry.

Finally to his Excellency The President , such a fund is nothing new but how we run it will make all the difference. Agricultural Finance Corporation AFC in the 80s was very similar but political correct borrowed with no intentions to ever payback and of course AFC died. I like your stance dare mess up and the culprits will face the music.

Mr President what made Grameen Bank to succeed with women who were barely literate was the trust levels. The trust levels were built through women guaranteeing each other which helped place the default rate at less than 2% and I personally believe that Husler Nation Fund should be able to achieve this mark and even better through peer support group and I am also happy that from the outset you have made it clear ” Hakuna pesa ya bure “

I wish you all the very best as you work hard to improve your well-being.

As always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi

Mombasa