Five Talents

Five Talents is a Christian charity that provides savings schemes, small loans, and business training for those in need in developing countries. They make use of a form of savings and credit-based microfinance. Five Talents' programs serve people regardless of religious background.

In May 2010 Five Talents was featured on the BBC's monthly television charity appeal program 'Lifeline'.[1] A short film starring Sandi Toksvig was broadcast on BBC1 and explored the impact of Five Talents on the poor in Tanzania.

Organization

Five Talents has offices in Washington, DC, London, and Kenya with partner organizations in nine countries. It was founded at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Church leaders in 1998[2] as 'a long term response to help the poor in developing countries based on need not creed'.[3]

The patron is the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby. Five Talents helps communities develop savings groups, offer financial services, and provide financial literacy and business skills training. Five Talents has partnered with local communities to build community banks and has trained around 78,000 entrepreneurs and developed around 31,000 new businesses.[4]

Five Talents works in nine developing countries: Burundi, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.[5]

Awards

Five Talents US was named "one of the best" non-profits for by Greater Washington's Catalogue for Philanthropy, According to the Catalogue, "115 reviewers from foundations, corporations, corporate giving programs, giving circles, the philanthropic advisory community, and peer nonprofits, evaluate applicants for distinction, merit, and impact."[6]

Five Talents UK won the 2011 Award from Advocates for International Development (A4ID) for the best Development Partner.[7] This award celebrates the outstanding achievements of legal professionals and the development organisations they have worked with in tackling extreme poverty and meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

Group lending model

Five Talents operates using a training and savings led group lending model. Members receive training in financial literacy, savings, and business development. They meet on a regular basis, often weekly, and contribute to savings groups. After six months of savings, members can access low interest loans provided to the group as a whole, so if one person has difficulty in repaying, the others in the group will have to cover their repayments. This system aims to reach those who are unable to take out commercial loans due to lack of collateral. The majority of borrowers are women. Loans are paid back within a short period of time and recycled for further business development.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/charityappeals/programmes/lifeline/
  2. ↑ "Five Talents microfinance initiative launches first annual review". Inspire Magazine. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
  3. ↑ Taken from Five Talents UK Website
  4. ↑ Administrator. "History - Five Talents". www.fivetalents.org. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  5. ↑ Five Talents - Our Programs
  6. ↑ http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy-dc.org/cfpdc/about.php
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  8. ↑ https://fivetalents.org/our-new-approach/

Further reading

  • Marshall, Katherine and Van Saanen, Marisa, "Development and Faith," The World Bank, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8213-7173-2
  • Bussau, David and Mask, Russell, "Christian Microenterprise Development: A Handbook", Paternoster Press, 2003, ISBN 978-1-870345-28-6
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