Over the last year the Mama Bahati Foundation has gone from strength to strength and has grown both in terms of clients and staff who are running the project. Excitingly, a team from the BBC went to film the project in March for a TV charitable appeal (see link below). We hope that this will not only raise funds but also awareness of our work in Tanzania and globally. We hope the following overview provides an insight into the impact these contributions to Five Talents are having on people's lives in Tanzania.

MBF now operates in both the urban and rural region of Iringa and has since opened a branch in the rural district of Kilolo (40 km from Iringa). A starting loan for a client is now £25 and is repaid after 4-6 months. Interest is still charged at 3% which is then used to fund the salaries and running costs of the programme with the ultimate goal being operational self-sustainability. The programme is now 36% sustainable which is in keeping with the 5 year business plan.

As of December 2009, there were 1,085 clients each of whom had an active loan averaging £61. The total outstanding loan balance was £54,932 in December and the average repayment rate for 2009 was 94%. MBF has grown by an additional 373 members and each member supports 5 dependents which means that approximately 2,238 people have directly benefited from this year's expansion. This growth would not have been possible without the support from Global Giving.

In 2009 - 2010, MBF has grown in size to warrant the employment of 4 new staff members, all recent graduates from university. During 2009 MBF conducted a thorough needs assessment as to the training needs and priorities of MBF clients. A tailored business skills curriculum was developed and adopted and in January 2010, MBF staff completed a course so that they are all now accredited trainers in this curriculum. This training will be passed on to women in the wider community through training conducted by MBF staff. Five Talents will continue to send c. 10% of its income to Tanzania. Thank you for your support!

Links:

• Five Talents Tanzania - overview
• BBC short film of Mama Bahati Foundation

• Client case studies - March 2010 (DOC)