The Rural Finance Learning Centre (RFLC) is a web site hosted and managed by the rural finance specialists of the FAO. The RFLC is currently funded by FAO, GTZ, IFAD and World Bank as part of a project called "Improving Capacity Building in Rural Finance" (CABFIN). The project objective is to encourage wider access to the extensive resources which are available for capacity building and training in rural finance.

The RFLC is organised into the following sections:

In the training section you will find:

• Guides for trainers - notes and resources for running workshops
• Online lessons - an intriguing, interactive form of distance learning
• Self study guides - downloadable "teach yourself" manuals to print
• Training tools - games, simulations and other ideas for trainers to use
• Training opportunities - a list of courses and organizations offering training or visitor programmes
• Videos - streamed from the site so that they can be watched by those with fast internet connections

This contains documents and multimedia organised into topics which can be searched from three perspectives:

• Policy-making
• Service provision
• Client advice

Abstracts are provided on each item and most can be downloaded direct from the RFLC.

In this section we feature:

• Interesting news items that we come across
• Details of forthcoming events
• Links to discussion lists that relate to rural and micro finance

The RFLC also sends a monthly newsletter to all registered members, which contains information on resources that have been recently added to the site and highlights any topical issues or events.

This section of the site contains a database of information about key financial institutions in developing countries that offer financial services mainly to farmers and rural businesses. It is a work in progress having taken over from the previously static site that was developed by FAO and GTZ.

Links to organisations, networks, portals and Learning Centre members.

The RFLC is keen to encourage people working in the field to contribute the materials they have used and developed to the resources database and share their experiences with others. You can register as a member of the RFLC. This will enable you to suggest new materials, add details of your organisation to contacts and receive the newsletter.

Visit the Rural Finance Learning Centre to learn more: www.ruralfinance.org
Contact us: RFLC@fao.org