“The goals of Five Talents – fighting poverty, creating jobs and transforming lives – give substance to my personal goal of serving God. By feeding both the body and the soul, through small loans and Biblically-based business training, we can demonstrate the love of Christ and win disciples for Him.”  

Dr. April Young, Board Member and Senior Vice President, Comerica Bank

Microenterprise development focuses on job creation through small-scale enterprises. It provides poor entrepreneurs with training and loan capital to start and expand small businesses. It is financial services to the poor who, with just a small amount of money, can begin to break out of poverty.

Microenterprise development (MED) has proven to be an efficient and effective method for fighting poverty and raising up entrepreneurs in developing countries. Where grants and giveaway programs have failed, Five Talents has provided platforms for long-term growth and stability. By teaching basic financial principles and general business training before providing loan capital, Five Talents ensures that the entrepreneurs and their communities benefit now and in the future. It is a very practical and sound approach to fighting poverty.

Local banks cannot afford the costs associated with lending small amounts of money to many microenterprises, nor can they offer loans to clients who can provide little or no collateral. The aim of MED is to fill the void that separates millions of people from access to basic financial service.

The businesses tend to be fairly simple in nature: shoemaking and repair, sewing, knitting, small retail shops, soap making, tricycle taxis, automobile repair, roadside food stands, brick making, piggeries, farming and many others. However, they represent nothing less than survival for the family!

Five Talents targets those at the bottom of the economic ladder through a grassroots network within the worldwide Anglican Communion. We identify project sites and credible local non-governmental organization partners. We insist on strict reporting and make on-site visits to ensure good stewardship of our donors’ generosity.

Group lending is a proven methodology with roots back into the early 1970s in Bangladesh. In general, small community banks are formed with 5-10 people from the community who self-select each other. Because each member of the group co-guarantees the loans of the others, there is peer pressure that ensures 85 to 100-percent repayment.