A bank agent explores Naaki, discovering financial literacy in a fun and engaging way
Pebuu Africa has unveiled Naaki: The Chronicles of a Bank Agent, a comic book designed to bring financial literacy to entrepreneurs and communities across Uganda in an engaging, relatable, and entertaining way.
The comic, created under the Pebuu Impact Initiative follows the adventures of Naaki, a curious, hardworking, sometimes a bit naïve — but undeniably charismatic young woman.
Naaki is open to learning and eager to seize every life opportunity in Kampala. Through her story, readers explore key themes of financial management, decision-making, and business planning in a format that is both fun and instructive.
“Naaki is more than just a fun comic book,” says John Paul Ssemyalo, the CEO of Pebuu Africa.
“It is a financial literacy adventure.”
In many areas of the country, reading engagement and literacy rates remain low, and a significant part of the population still faces barriers to accessing books online. Thus, with Naaki, Pebuu is piloting an edutaining design approach blending engaging storytelling with learning. As a printed comic book, it will reach and captivate readers, deepening their knowledge of financial management, decision-making, and business planning, while having fun alongside book characters who feel so familiar to them.
Each month, 30,000 printed copies of Naaki will be distributed free of charge to bank agents and small businesses in the communities across Uganda where Pebuu operates. With the support of various partners, such as banks and other stakeholders, Pebuu can offer this publication to all its readers at no cost, thereby making it even more accessible. “We believe that, as an engaging comic book, Naaki will be read not only by entrepreneurs but also their children — and is likely to circulate across communities, get shared among neighbours and families. Furthermore, the publication will be used by other organisations working with youth to strengthen their financial literacy and business planning skills,” stresses Ssemyalo.
The launch edition marks the beginning of Naaki’s adventure: Pebuu plans to translate the comic book into local languages to deepen accessibility and extend its reach beyond Uganda to other African countries facing similar financial literacy challenges. Future plans also include expanding into digital formats, with online and downloadable editions, and interactive content through social media platform to engage both children and adults, reaching even wider audiences.
“Working on this comic book also reminded us to think about the environment,” says the CEO. “We realised that over a year, we would use nearly 2.9 million A5 sheets of paper to deliver the publication to its readers — and this is without accounting for the energy, water, and CO2 footprint created due to its production. We decided to act and also launch an environmental initiative dubbed One Agent, 10 Trees to offset our impact.” Together with the bank agents and the small business owners, local authorities, and clients, Pebuu plans to plant 500,000 indigenous trees by 2030 across Uganda. “With this campaign, we highlight the intersection of sustainable business growth and environmental stewardship,” said Ssemyalo, “showing that
profit generation can create social impact and at the same time steward our planet; however, this is a collective effort.”
This September 2025, Naaki: The Chronicles of a Bank Agent will be available for digital download and reading on the Pebuu website; readers will be able to follow Naaki’s adventures on other social media platforms like Instagram, expanding the character’s connection with both children and adults. With Naaki, Pebuu Africa aims not only address financial literacy gaps but also foster cultural engagement, sustainability, and community –driven impact through education that is entertaining, impactful, and sustainable.
