Kenyan youth are spending more than half their income on personal care items and gambling, a new study has revealed.

According to the study by Geopoll personal care is the highest expenditure item among the millennials, taking up 56 percent of their expenditure.

Notably, the Geopoll study found that young people in the sub-Saharan Africa are saving a significant amount of their earnings to invest in education.

“This is proof that young Africans are striving for financial independence, prosperity and believe in their own ability to charter their own course with a strong belief in the adage “Education is the Key”. The study notes.

The study, which was carried out among youth between the ages of 18 to 35 in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda, Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is the second survey in a series on African Millennials in which GeoPoll seeks to understand just what makes the African Millennials tick, their aspirations, hopes, affinity, habits as well as get their thoughts on leadership, governance and their future in a digital age in the best way that they know how, using their mobile phones.

Gambling is becoming popular among young people in Africa

Gambling has also become a fast rising trend among male African millennials in SSA due to their high affinity to sports and the proliferation of local sports betting players.

In December last year, a different survey revealed that betting is on the rise among school going children in Kenya with the trend spilling to primary school pupils.

According to the survey by consumer insight, seven in every 100 primary schools have gambled. The study, however, noted that gambling is more prevalent in institutions of higher learning.

Kenya’s betting industry is now worth millions. Statistics released by Price Water house Coopers (PwC) late last year indicate that the annual gross turnover of sports betting industry in Kenya is $20 million (Sh2.1 billion).

The latest findings from the Geopoll study on the resources millennials in Kenya are spending on personal care items to boost their image explains why Kenya’s beauty industry is booming.

The market value of hair products in Kenya currently stands at a whopping Sh20 billion, as revealed by the world’s largest beauty and cosmetics company L’Oreal EA. High demand fueled by Kenyan women’s fetish for hair solutions especially weaves, hair relaxers, treatments, and oil, have been cited as the major forces behind the growth in the hair industry.

Beauty no matter the price

Beauty is everything to a woman no matter the cost and demand for hair solutions will keep rising as much as we can afford them. Recent research that studied the spending habits of women conducted by Consumer Insight for Global Payment Solutions Visa, revealed that women invest as much money in beauty and image boosting products as they do on school fees for their children.