General
Source: AFKinsider
Sex workers in Zimbabwe are getting creative with mobile technology, using mobile money services to get paid on cell-phones and smartphones, and social media to alert human rights activists when they encounter violence, according to reports in VenturesAfrica and NewZimbabwean.
"There are regular clients who have no problem paying in advance," a sex worker told Fin24Tech.
Another sex worker said mobile tech gets around the issue of buyer's remorse.
"Some clients would pay before you offer them sexual services and then after ...they violently demand their money back," a sex worker told Fin24Tech. "So I now request my clients to pay via EcoCash or Telecash before I offer them services."
Katswe Sisterhood, is a Zimbabwean group advocating for the rights of sex workers in Zimbabwe.
"We want to be careful that it is not something that contravenes communication laws," said Talent Jumo, director of Katswe, in a NewZimbabwe interview. "They can also use social media to notify those who can fight for their rights when they encounter violence or other problems."
Most Harare sex workers now carry at least two mobile phones to facilitate transactions, according to NewZimbabwe. They say mobile payments protect them from unscrupulous clients and corrupt police officers who demand bribes.
Mobile payment technology was introduced as Zimbabwe struggled with liquidity after ditching the local dollar for foreign currencies in 2009.
Econet Wireless-owned EcoCash are now the dominant services, according to NewZimbabwe.
