A Peek into Africa's Lucrative Online Prostitution Business

The first time I was approached by a prostitute, it was – to say the least – frightening. The bawdy women with garish makeup were no more sexually appealing to me than would my grandmother in a habit. I hear, however, that some prostitutes look decent enough to take home to momma. I wouldn’t know though. I’m a good man.

Prostitutes live a dangerous lifestyle, at least in the real world. They have to routinely check themselves for STDs, and when the diseases are kept at bay by prophylactics, they have to wrestle the long arm (and an equally long appendage that won’t be mentioned here) of the law. This makes the ‘back for ground’ business a high-risk venture with women (mostly, and the anti-gay bill will make this even more so) braving unfavorable waters to satisfy the sexual cravings of the testosterone-packed male.

Abraham Maslow seems to think that the need for sex is a serious matter indeed



In Kenya, an interesting trend is developing. As the world goes online, prostitution, apparently, has clambered on the bandwagon and is setting up shop in several dotcom domain name. I have read some interesting stories about online ‘shops’ for sex workers (and buyers, one may feel inclined to add) who are willing to offer the ‘weary traveler’ with a home, hotel and escort services (for a fee, of course.)

Once you look at the business model though, you have a target population. According to CCK
Quarterly Sector Statistics Report, the country (Kenya, that is) has 19.1 million active internet users, 31 million mobile phone subscribers with 40% of this number being smartphone users. Internet sex workers are migrating to the World Wide Web, targeting the online (sex craving) audience, thus reducing their risk and overhead cost in one fell swoop.

Now, all a man of ‘sensitive needs’ needs to do is go online, place a call and get an ‘escort’ to an event or a girl for a night, charged to their credit card.

This trend isn’t expected to be an isolated event, as a report from Juniper Research says we should expect more online dalliances in days to come.

A recent report fromJuniper Researchhas found that by 2017, a quarter of a billion people will use their mobile or tablet device to access adult content, such as videos, images and live cams, up by more than 30% the current usage. The report –Mobile Adult Content: Monetisation, Technologies & Legislation 2013 – 2018 – smartphones and tablets have become key distribution channels for adult service providers, with those at the forefront of the industry ensuring that content is differentiated for and tailored to the increasingly mobile audience.

Furthermore, the report argues that usage on tablets would be fueled by the increasing trend towards tablets becoming personal, as opposed to shared household devices, thereby alleviating user concerns that other family members might view inappropriate content.

Report author Siân Rowlands observed that ‘Whilst Juniper expects the total number of users of both desktop and mobile adult content to remain broadly consistent, we expect to see continued migration to smartphones and tablets, as more enhanced, tailored content makes its way onto these personal devices.’

If this is happening in Kenya, would it be mere speculation to surmise that something like this may soon begin in Nigeria, or may already be happening in Nigeria? Since the country has its underwear in a twist over the recent same sex marriage bill, might we speculate on the nation’s reaction to the – futuristic – explosion of online sex working?