"Uber made big promises in Kenya. Drivers say it's ruined their lives."

Uber came to Kenya, a country of densely populated cities without efficient public transportation, and aggressively signed up drivers while increasing ridership by dropping prices. Interviews with more than 80 current and former drivers in Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa show that, in Kenya's biggest markets, untold numbers of Uber drivers are drowning in debt... To qualify for the Uber sticker, many Kenyan drivers borrowed heavily to lease cars, sometimes through programs facilitated and promoted by Uber, sometimes through other companies.

Uber employs more than 12,000 drivers in Kenya. All of the more than 80 people who were interviewed expressed distress and said they were barely making ends meet. A labor economist at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business who drove for Uber for research has similar findings...

Lorraine Onduru, a spokesperson, said Uber was offering "vehicle solutions products" to drivers already on the platform... Uber says that, as part of the onboarding process, it holds training sessions to ensure that drivers do indeed understand the terms and conditions. Onduru...said that "in order to partner with Uber, drivers are asked to review and agree to Uber's terms and conditions."