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Is State's digital push fuelling youth debt and betting crises?

Sports betting is emerging as a financial risk, with 23 per cent of youths participating in sports betting. [Courtesy]

Whenever a speech is given on how to improve the lives of youth in Kenya, technology is invariably presented as the answer - an equaliser of sorts amid the country's economic inequality.

It is the premise on which President William Ruto built his campaign strategy in 2022. He went on a frenzy, promising the installation of 100,000 km of fibre network and the setting up of internet hotspots. His digital masterplan targeted 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots across all wards - more than 1,400 - by 2027.

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