Hustler Economy: Promise or Pipe Dream?

By Robert Mutasi

President William Ruto came to office in 2022, promising an economic vision that would uplift Kenya's most underserved communities through what he has termed a "Hustler Economy."

The framework to empower small traders, boda boda operators, and workers of the informal sector was highly welcomed with lots of enthusiasm.

The most pressing challenges facing the country, such as its upper unemployment rate, increasing cost of living, and inequality, should be on the front burner.

However, two years into his administration, many Kenyans have begun to question whether the Hustler Economy is unquestionably delivering on its promises or if it was just a political slogan.

The Hustler Fund was a flagship project whereby the Hustler Economy promoted easy access to loans, especially from small businesses in the informal sector.

Since its inception, it has been meant to sustain poor entrepreneurs; however, much criticism has faced the fund. The conditions for paying back, according to many of the small-scale traders, are rather not friendly due to the upper interests and limited availability of it.

Meanwhile, the economic climate in Kenya has struck a blow ever harder on ordinary citizens. Inflation has gone up high, jacking consumer thingamabob prices, while wages remain at a standstill.

The prices of petrol, foodstuff, and utility bills continue to rise, protracting to weigh heavily on households. Far from a thriving bottom-up economy, many Kenyans find that reality is very variegated from that ideal.

An ever-increasing public debt now aggravates the situation due to the continuous seeking on the part of the government of international loans, explicitly from organizations like the International Monetary Fund, for financing activities.

Financial analysts are of the opinion that such loans, unless handled well, might rationalize the long-term instabilities in the economy.

The question lingers: is the Hustler Economy a genuine struggle at economic reform or flipside promise in the air?