UK Director - Tom Sanderson

Tom is married to Rachelle and they have 3 children. Tom was an Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Agriculture in London for 10 years. He then spent 5 years with Church Mission Society in Uganda working as a Development Officer for the Anglican church. He helped people to improve their standards of living by diversifying their agriculture and starting income generating activities. During this time he also helped establish the first Five Talents project, seeing it grow to serve thousands of local entrepreneurs. He returned with his family to the UK in July 2005, and since October 2005 is leading Five Talents UK.

“I know my background in Economics, Agriculture and Uganda is now being put to good use in Five Talents. I have seen for myself the immense impact that a small loan has on a family business and I am convinced that Five Talents is the best way to help people to help themselves. It is not easy, and loans are not for all people, but I am certain that God will honour our efforts to multiply the Talents!”

 

Development Director - Rachel Millward

Rachel Millward joined Five Talents in August 2007 as Development Director. She previously worked as a Credit Analyst in the Credit Risk Management and Advisory Department of Goldman Sachs in London for 11 years. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with German from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

"I am so excited to be part of this small yet ambitious charity. I joined Five Talents last year as their Development Director and prior to this I worked at Goldman Sachs for eleven years. In my first few months at Five Talents I had the privilege of visiting our projects in Tanzania and Uganda and witnessed firsthand the incredible impact these loans are having on our clients’ lives."

 

Office Manager - Vanessa Anderson

Vanessa graduated from The Media School at Bournemouth University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Media in 2008. Vanessa spent three months working for Marie Curie Cancer Care as the Event Coordinator for the Great South Run in 2007. She has traveled to both Zambia and Kenya with her Church (New Life Christian Centre, Croydon) and since then decided to work for Five Talents.

"Having seen people living in poverty in Africa I decided to get alongside an organisation who were using a reliable method to give those in need a hand up out of poverty. I was pleased to learn that Five Talents uses the concept of microfinance because it is cost-effective and can have a positive effect on the families of loan recipients as well as the recipients themselves."

 

Program Analyst and Institutional Fundraiser - Anna Pienaar

Anna has a Bachelor of Arts degree in European Studies with Spanish, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, and a Masters in International Development. She has had experience in education, business and charity sectors, and previously worked for Geneva Global as Senior Sector Analyst for Conflict Recovery.

"I am particularly interested in trying to capture the social impact of microfinance on families, such as improved education, healthcare and nutrition. Having seen microfinance work in the toughest situations, such as post-conflict reconstruction, I know it is an effective tool in building livelihoods and indirectly lifting whole communities out of poverty."