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Ciku Kimeria is a Kenyan author "Of goats and poisoned oranges" - (https://www.amazon.com/goats-poisoned-oranges-Ciku-Kimeria-ebook/dp/B00HBBWPI6), development consultant, adventurer and travel blogger (www.thekenyanexplorer.com). She writes both fiction and non-fiction focusing on African stories that need telling. She has worked on diverse pieces for various international and local publications including Quartz, Ozy, The East African etc. She has travelled to 45 countries – 16 of them in Africa. 153 countries to go and 63 territories!
"Of goats and poisoned oranges" has been extremely well received in Kenya and beyond. It tells the story of a Kenyan middle aged power couple and their complicated marriage. The novel explores issues of greed, revenge, betrayal and murder. It runs from the 1960s to 2013. It has been described as “Wicked, funny, poignant, wacky, human, a big ball of fun and danger”, “A unique and captivating book”, “Fun and intriguing”, “Impossible to put down once you start reading.”
She recently moved to Dakar, Senegal from Kenya to work on her second novel. She also works at as the Africa Communication Manager at a leading global strategy consulting firm.
She holds a B.S. in Management Science from MIT with minors in Urban Planning and International development studies.
Mobile Money And Sports Betting In Africa
Mobile money has obviously been a huge game-changer in Africa, but one of the unintended consequences of its growth has been the surge in sports betting. This has happened because mobile money services create opportunities for merchants to offer new products. Those behind sports betting have seen and seized the huge opportunity for market capture.
In Nigeria, 60 million people aged between 18 and 40 spend up to USD$5 million on sports betting daily. The majority are unemployed or underemployed young people who stake an average of USD$8.40 daily.
The companies behind such platforms have enough clout in the countries they operate in to drive their own agenda.
Supporters of mobile-based sports betting in Africa will tell you how good it’s been for the continent. They list off a number of gambling benefits including increased employment opportunities, easy money for low-income earners, tax revenue for government, and general economic growth.
Anyone who knows anything about gambling will instantly recognize the absurdity of their assertions. Certain countries have already started to see the adverse effects of gambling on their youth population and are taking steps to clamp down on the industry. Uganda is one such country that has seen how sports betting can plunge a young, unemployed population into even more financial turmoil.
Sports betting appeals mostly to young, unemployed people who view it as a way to make some easy money. Soon many find themselves in debt. For these young people, the rare opportunity to turn a dollar into hundreds of dollars is worth all the dollars they lose. Sports betting platforms on the continent are normalizing an addiction while making sure that those using the platforms are not well informed of the dangers.
The exponential growth of mobile telephony has contributed to a higher betting prevalence and the rise of gambling addiction in Africa.
This is a problem that will worsen unless governments do more to curb it.
