Five Talents is a nonprofit that builds women-led savings groups across East Africa, where members save together, learn to read and write, and build small businesses.
On CommCare, Five Talents registers, tracks, and verifies more than 6,200 of these community-owned groups, proving their impact with field data.
Lasting change takes more than a ledger
Five Talents’ field staff track group members, meetings, and training across thousands of savings groups in remote, rural places, and paper could not keep up. They chose CommCare because:
- It works far off the grid. Field staff collect data offline in remote areas and sync when back in range.
- It shows impact in real time. A central dashboard verifies savings, spots low engagement, and surfaces problems early.
- It stands up to verification. Data integrity strong enough that funders like USAID can check it against the record.
- It captures members’ stories. Qualitative data with keyword flagging surfaces trends and replicates what works.
We got unanimously positive feedback, even in the DRC where people had never used mobile phones before. After receiving training, they were able to use the app, and we received really good quality data. That was indicative of how easy and intuitive CommCare is to use.
people have learned to read and write since inception in Burundi, 78% of them women. Participants formed more than 6,200 community-owned savings groups, and over 84% were still operating on their own more than 10 years after funding ended.
Field teams
Data collection that works offline in remote areas, syncing to the center as soon as a connection returns.
Program teams
A real-time dashboard shows training penetration and member engagement, so challenges surface early.
Funders
When USAID came to verify, the data matched what was recorded elsewhere: a system of integrity.
Communities
Members own their data and their groups; marginalized participants have launched initiatives of their own.
We have found a couple of years on, that the benefits of integrating CommCare into our work have exceeded what we foresaw. It adds value for community members who get a sense of belonging by being part of something bigger, because they get to own their own data.
Hear it from Five Talents
Rachel Lindley, Hannah Wichmann, and Samantha Muli of Five Talents join High Impact Growth to talk about savings-led, community-owned development across East Africa.
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