Financial Inclusion Unlocked

S2 EP9 - Navigating Consumer Rights in the Mobile Money Era with Kennedy Kipkemboi, GSMA

Consumer protection is fast becoming one of the defining challenges of the mobile money era. From fraud and impersonation scams to opaque fees and inadequate recourse, the risks facing digital financial services users are growing, and as mobile money scales across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and other emerging markets, so do the vulnerabilities it creates. This episode takes a hard look at the full arc of consumer protection in mobile money: what the challenge looks like today, where the industry is innovating, and what still needs to change. Regulators in fast-growing markets face a genuine tension — push too hard on protection and you risk stifling the growth that has brought hundreds of millions of people into the formal financial system; move too slowly and those same people bear the cost.  Grounded in global evidence and policy experience, Jack is joined by Kennedy Kipkemboi, Director of Policy, Regulatory & Advocacy for Mobile Money at the GSMA, to explore what good regulation looks like, how it needs to evolve as mobile money moves beyond payments into credit, savings, and insurance, and what the next chapter of the regulatory playbook must deliver. Episode Themes 1. A snapshot of the consumer protection landscape in mobile money today, including the fraud typologies growing fastest and the populations most exposed 2. How regulators are learning to strike the balance between enabling mobile money growth and protecting users, drawing on the Mobile Money Regulatory Index, the 2024 Policy and Regulatory Handbook, and the markets that have managed to do both 3. How regulation needs to evolve as mobile money expands beyond payments into credit, savings, and insurance 4. What the next chapter of mobile money regulation needs to look like About Our Guest  Kennedy Kipkemboi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennedy-kipkemboi/] is the Director of Policy, Regulatory & Advocacy for Mobile Money at the GSMA. In this capacity, he leads GSMA's regulatory strategy for mobile financial services across GSMA's global footprint. Kennedy is an experienced public policy and regulatory affairs practitioner with over 14 years' experience spanning converged telecommunications and financial services. Prior to joining the GSMA, he worked with Safaricom PLC where he held several roles in Regulatory and Public Policy, Financial Services, and Customer Management. He is skilled in Government Relations, Stakeholder Management, and Strategic Planning. About Our Sponsor We are proud that CGAP is also the exclusive sponsor of Season 2! CGAP are 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. For listeners interested to learn more about the topic, CGAP has produced valuable research: 1. An Ecosystem Approach to Consumer Protection: What, Why and How? [https://www.cgap.org/topics/collections/digital-credit] 2. Three Lessons from Cote D'Ivoire on Responsible Digital Finance Ecosystems [https://www.cgap.org/blog/3-lessons-cote-divoire-on-responsible-digital-finance-ecosystems] Follow CGAP on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgap/] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-inclusion-unlocked/] for video highlights, insights, and updates.

S2 EP8 - How Can Financial Institutions Climate-Proof Their Portfolios? Insights from Andrée Simon (FINCA Global CEO) and Peter Zetterli (Green Lead, CGAP)

Climate shocks are intensifying, and inclusive financial institutions are caught in the crossfire. As extreme weather events grow more frequent and severe, MFIs and inclusive banks face a dual challenge: protecting portfolio quality while continuing to support the clients who need them most. This episode takes a hard look at what happens when climate disaster strikes. Severe flooding in Pakistan wiped out livelihoods, disrupted local economies, and laid bare the fragility of financial systems serving climate-vulnerable communities. In the aftermath, around 40% of MFIs in the country reduced or paused lending to climate-affected sectors - decisions that compounded financial stress for households and slowed recovery at precisely the moment finance was needed most. Grounded in local stories and global evidence, Jack is joined by Peter Zetterli, Green Lead at CGAP, and Andrée Simon, Global CEO of FINCA, to explore practical, institution-level approaches that help MFIs and inclusive banks remain viable, protect their social mission, and channel climate adaptation finance to the communities that need it most. Episode Themes 1. The global picture: who climate change is hitting hardest 2. CGAP's study in Pakistan: what the data reveals 3. FINCA's experience on the ground in Pakistan 4. How inclusive financial institutions can adapt their products, operations, and governance to survive and serve in a climate-volatile world 5. What the sector needs from investors, donors, and governments to unlock the flow of climate adaptation finance to local communities About Our Guests Peter Zetterli is CGAP's Green Lead, spearheading the organisation's work at the intersection of financial inclusion and climate change. With over 20 years of experience in economic and financial inclusion, much of it spent on the ground across multiple parts of Africa and China, Peter has led CGAP's work on fintech and the future of banking, merchant payments, rural agent networks, and social protection. He has also been deeply involved in shaping business models and regulatory frameworks for mobile money.  Andrée Simon is the Global CEO of FINCA, overseeing the organisation's mission to end poverty through sustainable, scalable solutions driven by the needs of the communities it serves. FINCA creates opportunities for millions of people across more than 45 countries, with a focus on measurable results in income generation, resilience, and access to education. Andrée has dedicated more than 20 years to FINCA, playing a central role in shaping the organisation's growth, strategic direction, and business model transformation to create better value for customers and greater resilience across the network. Additional Resources If you would like to read more on climate and financial inclusion, you can check out this collection of resources [https://www.cgap.org/climate] developed by CGAP. About Our Sponsor We are proud that CGAP is also the exclusive sponsor of Season 2! CGAP are 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgap/] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-inclusion-unlocked/] for video highlights, insights, and updates.

S2 EP7 - 70 Million Views: Driving Financial Literacy through Edutainment in Central Asia

Stories stick where statistics don't. In this episode, we head to Central Asia to explore what happens when financial literacy stops being a classroom exercise and starts becoming entertainment.  Our guests Buazhar Abdykadyrova is a master trainer at the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Recognising that institutional expertise has limits when it stays in a classroom, Buazhar built her social media presence across YouTube, Instagram, and Telegram — turning complex financial regulations into digestible 60-second videos.  Arsen Imankulov is the founder of Salt LLC, working at the intersection of communications and behaviour change. The IFC-funded edutainment campaign spanning Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan implemented together with Buazhar produced TV drama series, social experiment videos, TED-style live events, and targeted digital campaigns — ultimately reaching 5.8 million citizens with over 70 million views. In the episode, we discuss: * Why traditional financial education strategies fall short, and why social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) principles are becoming essential for organisations serious about shifting financial behaviours — not just awareness. * The strategic logic behind the campaign's multi-channel funnel — how social experiment videos at the top of the funnel generated curiosity and reach, feeding into longer-form TV dramas designed to embed financial behaviours into relatable everyday narratives. * How social experiment videos work as an edutainment tool, what made them effective with Central Asian audiences, and the key lessons for anyone considering this format. * How do you decide which financial behaviours belong at the centre of a drama storyline? Buazhar shares how the team shaped content narratives for the TV series — and what made certain stories land with audiences across Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. * Running a campaign across two countries with distinct cultures, languages, and financial contexts meant far more than translating a script. The team shares what authentic localisation actually looks like in practice. * The campaign didn't stop at reach. Arsen explains how TED-style live events with financial institutions physically present — with products on offer — bridged the gap between awareness and action. Plus: how the team ran a digital retargeting campaign using YouTube and Meta databases built through the social experiment videos, generating over 22,000 leads. * Buazhar shares her experience using gamification as a financial literacy tool, and what she has learned about what makes people stop scrolling and actually engage with financial content on social media. * The single most important takeaway from running SBCC campaigns at this scale... About Our Sponsor We are proud that CGAP is also the exclusive sponsor of Season 2! CGAP are 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgap/] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-inclusion-unlocked/] for video highlights, insights, and updates. Financial Inclusion Unlocked is produced by SIJ Media [https://www.sijmedia.com/] and your host is Jack Farren.

S2 EP6 - Addressing the Systemic Barriers to Women’s Financial Inclusion with Gayatri Murthy, Gender Lead at CGAP

In this episode, Jack met Gayatri Murthy, Gender Lead at CGAP to explore the next chapter of women's financial inclusion. Women’s financial inclusion has made undeniable progress, but access alone has not delivered empowerment.  Drawing on global research and country experience, we unpack the systemic barriers that persist beneath the surface including gender norms embedded in institutions, fragmented efforts, and misaligned incentives.  Through the episode, we explore how to move from access to agency, why collective action matters, and what it takes to trigger a visible step-change toward genuine economic empowerment for women. About Our Guest Gayatri Murthy is CGAP’s gender lead. She is currently working on building country-level platforms in Mexico, Morocco and India to transform the financial sector for women customers. Her expertise spans building research methods, digital business models and gender intentional policy for low-income communities and women business owners. Gayatri has a Master’s degree in International Communication from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India. She is fluent in Hindi.  Additional Resources If you would like to read more on women's financial inclusion, you can check out this collection of resources [https://www.cgap.org/topics/women-financial-inclusion] developed by CGAP. Also, you can read this brand new blog [https://www.cgap.org/blog/mexicos-collective-shift-redefining-approaches-to-womens-inclusion] co-authored by Gayatri on Redefining Approaches to Women's Financial Inclusion through a Collective Shift in Mexico. About Our Sponsor We are proud that CGAP is also the exclusive sponsor of Season 2! CGAP are 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgap/] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-inclusion-unlocked/] for video highlights, insights, and updates. Financial Inclusion Unlocked is produced by SIJ Media [https://www.sijmedia.com/] and your host is Jack Farren.

S2 EP5 - How a TV Drama Can Change Financial Behaviours in Kenya with Rahma Seif, Producer at Mediae

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 [https://www.cgap.org/blog/everyone-loves-drama-changing-financial-norms-with-edutainment] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/cgap/] 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 [https://www.linkedin.com/company/financial-inclusion-unlocked/] for video highlights, insights, and updates. Financial Inclusion Unlocked is produced by SIJ Media [https://www.sijmedia.com] and your host is Jack Farren.