FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2011
Five Talents International
P.O. Box 331
Vienna, VA 22183
www.fivetalents.org
Contact: Charlie Shifflett, Website and Communications Manager, (703) 242-6016 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Anna Awimbo Elected to Five Talents Board of Directors
Vienna, Virginia – Five Talents announces that Anna Awimbo of Washington, D.C. has been elected to the board of directors. Awimbo is a consultant and the former Director of Research & Administration at the Microcredit Summit Campaign (MCS). She currently directs two MCS projects, including the Movement Above the $1.25 Per Day Threshold project.
"Anna brings a wealth of microfinance experience and she understands the role of faith-based organizations as well," said Five Talents President and CEO Craig Cole. "I have known Anna for about 10 years, and she has served as an advisor on our program review committee during that time. She is an excellent addition to the board."
Awimbo, who earned a BA in Economics at St. Lawrence University, in Canton, NY, and an MBA at George Washington University, in Washington, DC, first heard about Five Talents through a mission group at her home church, St. Columba's in DC.
"I learned that the work of Five Talents was very in-line with [my own] goals of reaching the very poor and empowering individuals who are being left out of most international development efforts," she said.
Awimbo was so impressed with what she found that she offered to link-up Five Talents with the Microcredit Summit Campaign. In 2002, Craig Cole presented Five Talents' work at the Global Microcredit Summit in New York.
Awimbo's work with MCS includes tracking data to monitor the Campaign's progress towards its goal of reaching 175 million poorest clients by 2015. She has also co-edited two books on microfinance, including her most recent, New Pathways Out of Poverty, which is due out this month. Awimbo says she stumbled upon this career track almost by accident.
"I actually ran into microfinance when a friend told me about the Grameen Bank," Awimbo said. "To me, it seemed to be the perfect tool to empower women and help them improve the lives of everybody in their households. I saw [microfinance] as a great opportunity to put my two interests together – my interests in business and women's empowerment."
Awimbo adds that she is excited about what the future holds for Five Talents moving forward.
"What impresses me the most is that [Five Talents] is always looking to tap in to regions or areas where no one else is working. Five Talents is out there looking for what some people may call green pastures -- places around the world where there's a lot of demand and need that has not necessarily been tapped into by other microfinance initiatives."
Established in 1999, Five Talents International has provided funding for business training and thousands of loans, ranging from $50 to $300, in 11 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. A majority of loan recipients are women. Five Talents' ongoing work is supported by a staff based in Vienna, VA, and an office in London. Hundreds of volunteers across the United States and United Kingdom participate in the organization. For more information and to donate, visit www.FiveTalents.org.
