"Rather than try to combat poverty from the top-down, microenterprise fights poverty from the ground up by working directly to change the lives of those most affected by poverty.”

Bishop Simon Chiwanga – founder from Tanzania

Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.

“Master,” he said, “You have entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.” His master replied. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:14-30)

Commended by resolution at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, Five Talents was created as a long term response to the ravages of poverty that debilitate communities in developing countries. The founders, including Anglican Church leaders, talked about the plight of the poor and those dying of famine, AIDS/HIV and other diseases. They wanted not only to assist but also to guard the dignity of the poor, many of whom survive on $1 a day, by supporting them in small businesses.

Today, Five Talents is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. We have offices in London and Kampala, Uganda, as well as an office in the southeast US that coordinates our Latin American program and curriculum development. We are supported by hundreds of volunteers across the US and the UK.

Five Talents gives people the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty by providing access to basic savings and microcredit services built on their trusted community traditions. We provide biblically-based business training to help the poor start small businesses and begin to build their future. Five Talents supports indigenous institutions working in microenterprise development and work primarily through the following services and programs:

• Consulting services, training and education for savings and microcredit programs.

• Materials that promote Biblical business principles.

• Loan capital for the poor.

• 50% of the world’s population of 6 billion people survives on less than $2 a day.

• 20% of the world’s population survives on less than $1 a day.

• 20% of the world’s children never reach their fifth birthday.

• 50% of the world’s children suffer from some form of malnourishment.

• With more than 70 million members the Anglican Church reaches into many of the poorest communities in the world.

Statistics from the UN Human Development Report