Kenya is a growing economy. Like many other growing economies, as some of its citizens embrace middle classhood that is coupled with less stress over living standards, others experience untold hardship. This many a time involves fathers who refuse to take responsibility for pregnancies and at times abandon their families entirely. This is also characterized by harsh parents with the "we told you" mentality who don't give a hoot about the suffering of their daughters at all.

Nairobi's stark economic contrasts reflect the growing divide between middle-class comfort and survival economics. Photo credits to Mlllefoto

Limited Options in a Harsh Economy

With all this hardship, one has a few cards at hand. For starters, one can stand up, wipe dust from them and soldier on with some business be it hawking or some kibanda. But truth be told, education and cost of living is very expensive. This is more pronounced in the capital Nairobi.

Others go on some insane hunt for secondary providers. The prey in this case is some pussy-driven men who never run out in this expansive city. We often refer to them as simps. While some may be self-aware, most take over family duties for pussy. Well, live and let live.

The Street Reality

Some decide to go for the oldest trade in the world; prostitution. This is often characterized by braving the cold and often mosquitos in short skirts preying on men whose sexual drive is high. In most places, these "damsels" appear in the crack of the night and with your KES 200 you get "a shot". This shot is often short lived since it involves paying, the girl removing the clothing to the knees, her laying in a missionary position after dressing you with some government provided protection and then you pumping in an attempt to release.

Truth be told, these interactions are often so quick. Any delay in release, as if you hold the power to do so, is met with castigations such as "Mwaga", "Kwani haumwagi", "Toka sasa", "Ama uongeze pesa." Your instinct often drives you to pump faster and at times fake groans that you are almost there do the trick; just for the time being. You shall be a fool to offer more money at these moments since this is something they know you are lucky to do.

"The street game is rough, no doubt. But here's where things get interesting."

The Escort Evolution

The digital transformation has created new economic opportunities and safer working environments in previously street-based industries. Image Credits to Brian Zeiger, Philadelphia

The other thing women do in today's world is become escorts. Now don't get me wrong - the business is at times plagued with exploitation, child trafficking and abuse. But some sites in Kenya such as massagerepublic.com and massageandextra.co.ke go an extra mile to curb this. However, how they achieve this is a story for another day.

This is unlike other sites such as nairobihot.com, kenyaraha.co.ke, exotickenya.com who have no regard for such. The first sign for lack of care is that there is no age restriction banner. While some may argue that one can just click on "Enter", it plays a role in letting people know that that direction is not the right direction to go.

Economics of Choice

In the escort business, these ladies are able to upgrade from the KES 200 per person to as low as KES 1000 per person. While some may argue about numbers when someone is on the streets, escort business screams of safety, more healthy, less anxiety, more clean clients amongst other things.

Think about it this way - would you rather deal with random strangers in some dark corner or have some level of screening and safety? The math is simple. Street work might give you more clients in a night, but escort work gives you better pay per client and way less risk.

Safety features like verification and screening have transformed traditionally dangerous industries into structured services with standards and protections. Image Credits to Escort Worxz

The Unvarnished Truth

You're still dealing with the same reality - making money from men's desires. But at least with proper escort services, especially ones that care about safety like massageandextra.co.ke, you're not throwing yourself to the wolves completely. There's some structure, some protection, some standards.

Look, nobody's pretending this is anyone's dream career. But if you're already in a corner and these are your options, why pick the one that pays less and puts you in more danger? That's just bad business sense.

At the end of the day, it's about survival. And if you're going to survive, you might as well do it smarter.