The article highlights a common Kenyan dilemma where politeness prevents people from collecting money they are owed, leading them to take out digital loans at interest to cover their own expenses. This practice effectively means they are financing others' lives at their own financial cost.

• Many Kenyans are taking out digital loans to cover shortfalls caused by friends or family members who have not repaid borrowed money, such as a cousin's Sh5,000 loan.
• The problem is rooted in a cultural reluctance to ask for repayment, which is framed as being rude or desperate, rather than a necessary act of financial discipline.
• The author, a CPA and founder of Marathon Debt Recovery Ltd, advises keeping a record of debts and following up kindly but firmly, and only lending what one can afford to lose.