About Five Talents

Five Talents works with the Anglican Church in rural areas of eastern Africa to enable those who have little to no access to financial services to begin Savings Groups where they receive training and support to set-up and grow small businesses. Hear one member’s story, Esther, below.


In 1999, we opened our US office and six years later, in 2005, the UK base was founded. In 2016 we launched our Kenyan office, Five Talents Kenya, in Nairobi. Over 1,000,000 people have benefitted from Five Talents programmes across 12 countries.

The function of the UK and US offices is to raise funds for our partners around the world, with whom we work closely. Five Talents Kenya primarily provides training and support for our programmes across eastern Africa.

In 2006 the UK office opened its first programme in Kenya in a district called Thika. After the programme’s first year the average savings per member was £39.


By the end of 2014, the average savings per member was £180. This four-fold increase in savings represents a real safety net for communities with no access to free healthcare or state support of any kind.

Since the programme in Thika, things have grown drastically.

Now we work in Bolivia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Myanmar, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Currently, the programmes have over 30,000 members and their families enabling them to learn, earn, save and invest in a brighter future, together.

“Creativity is a gift of God in creation. From the very beginning of the Biblical Story of Creation, we see that human beings are meant to develop, oversee and create. I am pleased to be a Patron of Five Talents, an organisation that, working through the local Anglican Church around the world, celebrates the creative potential of enterprise to bring human flourishing and to support people to lift themselves out of poverty.”

- Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury & Five Talents UK Patron

 

Our Mission

Transforming lives through economic empowerment.

Our Vision

Our vision is to eradicate extreme poverty by restoring human dignity and creating strong, sustainable communities.

 

An international presence

Five Talents UK is part of Five Talents International, along with Five Talents USA (based in Virginia) and Five Talents Kenya (based in Nairobi). Our three country office teams work closely together, sharing knowledge, resources and funds. In broad terms, the UK and US offices focus more on fundraising whilst the Kenya office focuses more on technical support to our implementation partners. All three offices are equal members of Five Talents International but are also legally-registered independent entities in their own countries.

 

Our origins with the Anglican Church

Five Talents was founded at the 1998 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops as a practical means of combating poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa, the church is often the primary, or indeed only, trusted organisation in many marginalised communities which have been neglected by other organisations. For more information click here.

 

Where to next?

What Is Microfinance   |   Who Benefits?   |  Get Involved