In this episode, we sit down with Rahma Seif, Producer at Mediae, to go behind the scenes of one of East Africa’s most successful edutainment initiatives. Edutainment (education through entertainment) is moving from experimental to essential in the financial inclusion sector, with evidence showing it achieves significantly better knowledge retention and behaviour change than traditional approaches.
Rahma walks us through Mediae’s long-running serialised drama Makutano Junction and its spin-off Maisha Makutano, an educational TV drama set in a fictional Kenyan village that brings financial literacy to life through relatable characters and storylines.
Key Topics Discussed
- Why stories stick where statistics don’t – the case for edutainment in financial inclusion
- How Maisha Makutano portrays SACCOs and chamas as vital support systems for women
- The craft of character and storyline selection to deliver real financial literacy messages
- Balancing entertainment value with educational content without the show feeling like a lecture
- Mediae’s two-way platform enabling viewers to seek personalised financial advice
- Measuring actual behaviour change beyond viewership numbers
- Partnerships with TV networks for broad reach and audience data collection
- Sustaining high-quality content beyond initial donor funding, and the role financial institutions can play
About Our Guest
Rahma Seif is a Producer at Mediae, a Nairobi-based organisation with a rich history in edutainment across East Africa. Rahma is passionate about using storytelling as a catalyst for social change in Africa. She leads multi-platform media productions that amplify African voices and perspectives, designs audience engagement strategies rooted in research and cultural insight and manages partnerships with brands, NGOs, and development organizations to align creative outputs with strategic goals.
About Our Sponsor
If you would like to read more on edutainment and financial inclusion following our discussion with Rahma, we recommend this blog post from our Series 2 sponsors CGAP — Everyone Loves Drama: Changing Financial Norms With Edutainment.
CGAP is a global partnership of 40+ development organisations working to advance the lives of people living in poverty through financial inclusion. Housed at the World Bank, its independent research and analysis is available to all as a global public good.
Follow CGAP on LinkedIn or subscribe to its newsletter.
Connect With Us
Don’t miss the remaining episodes of Series 2! Subscribe to Financial Inclusion Unlocked on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.
Join the conversation on LinkedIn at Financial Inclusion Unlocked for video highlights, insights, and updates.
Financial Inclusion Unlocked is produced by SIJ Media and your host is Jack Farren.
