General Questions

· What is RuralInvest?

RuralInvest is a free toolkit designed to support field technicians in their work with entrepreneurs by allowing the systematization and development of solid and sustainable business proposals.

The toolkit is composed of a user-friendly software, an e-learning course, tailored face-to-face trainings, user manuals and a worldwide community of users. Through a participatory and bottom-up approach, RuralInvest methodology brings together local communities, rural entrepreneurs, government field technicians, project staff and financing institutions to identify, prepare, evaluate and finance small-and medium-size sustainable rural investment projects.

Learn more.

· How do I download the software? / How do I take the eLearning course? / Do I have to pay?

RuralInvest is free for everyone. To learn about the methodology and how to use the software we recommend people to take our free eLearning courses. You will receive an official badge from the FAO eLearning Academy after successfully approving the tests at the end of each course.

Further, you can download the software for free.

· Who can use RuralInvest?

RuralInvest can be used by development partners, individuals or national institutions.

Development partners: RuralInvest provides training to project staff and national field technicians that will work with the beneficiaries of a project to build business plans that will provide most of the information generally requested by financial institutions and development partners. Learn more.

Individuals: If you are a field technician, extension agent, international development staff, member of a university or a training centre, a business plan development consultant or financial specialist, you can benefit from RuralInvest. You can take our free e-learning courses and get the certification badges. Not only you will learn how to master the methodology but also access a community of users from all over the world. Learn more.

National institutions: Developing capacities at national institutions like universities, extension services, entrepreneurship hubs, or any financial institution is critical to assure long-term success in supporting small-scale entrepreneurs. These institutions strengthen the empowerment of RuralInvest at the country level by training professionals capable of using the toolkit to support entrepreneurs. Organizations that decide to partner with RuralInvest will have complete support from the RuralInvest team. Learn more.

· If I am part of an institution, can I partner with RuralInvest?

It depends on the context but in general, yes. Developing capacities at national institutions like universities, extension services, entrepreneurship hubs, or any financial institution is critical to assure long-term success in supporting small-scale entrepreneurs.

Among the possibilities for partnerships are to organize or participate in RuralInvest trainings; adopt the tool in the institution; become an FAO partner to replicate trainings; organize knowledge sharing activities, etc.

To explore the partnership possibilities write us to: CFI-RuralInvest@fao.org

· How can I become a RuralInvest expert?

Start by taking our free eLearning courses. You will receive an official badge from the FAO eLearning Academy after successfully approving the tests at the end of each course. When you start using the software, you will be part of the RuralInvest community; a network of professionals from all over the world to exchange knowledge and receive technical support, new materials, and information on training.

New opportunities as a RuralInvest expert or to become a RuralInvest trainer may arise in your country or region

· I downloaded the software, but I don’t understand how to use it, what should I do?

You can learn with our eLearning courses. The Business Planning with RuralInvest is a series of 4 courses where you can learn everything about the methodology and the software, access to study cases and exercises.

FAQs for Users

· When I create a new business concept or business plan, I can’t choose a configuration, what should I do? | How to create a configuration in RIV20 the RuralInvest software.

If you cannot choose a configuration, then you should create one. Go to ‘Configuration’ and click in ‘New’. Then fill all the necessary information. For further detailed guidance, please download our User Manual.

· I created a business concept or business plan, and I cannot modify the configuration, how can I do it?

From a business concept or a business plan, you can only change the selected configuration for another one already created. For this, go to the General Information section and click on the lock next to your configuration box. Then you will be able to choose another configuration.

However, if what you want to do is modify the configuration you are using, you should click ‘Configurations’ in the top bar menu to access to your list of configurations. Click in the one that you want to modify and apply all the changes. Once you save, you can go back to your project and modifications in the configuration will be implemented. For further detailed guidance, please download our User Manual.

· How do I save/export my business concepts and business plans?

Click on ‘List’ in the top bar menu. You will see all your list of projects. Click on the square at the left of the name of the project to select the one that you would like to save as a file in your computer. Five blue buttons will appear at the right. Click on download to save the file in your computer. You can share that file with a colleague via email.

· How do I share my business concepts or business plans?

Click on ‘List’ in the top bar menu. You will see all your list of projects. Click on the square at the left of the name of the project to select the one that you would like to save as a file in your computer. Five blue buttons will appear at the right. Click on share. The different sharing options will appear.

Sharing features are currently under development and will be available soon.

· Do I need to be an economist to use RuralInvest?

No. Certain economic and business-related knowledge are needed but you do not need to be an economist to learn about RuralInvest.

· Can I participate on a face-to-face training?

Normally, face-to-face training are organized in the context of a project. Open opportunities to participate in trainings may arise depending on the countries/regions and they will be informed to the RuralInvest community of users.

FAQs for Development Partners

· How can I use RuralInvest in a development project?

Using RuralInvest in enterprise development and grant components provides project teams and field staff a systematic approach to develop high-quality business proposals that can be easily customized and integrated into project operations. RuralInvest will train field technicians to support rural entrepreneurs in developing their business plans, usually ranging from 5.000 to USD 500.000. Learn more about RuralInvest for development partners.

· How does training in RuralInvest work?

Courses are designed to institutionalize RuralInvest in either projects, organizations, or countries developing long-term capacities at national or regional levels. They are usually combined with the eLearning course to further strengthen the ability of the users to apply the methodology and use the software.

Ideally, a first round of training will be conducted with professionals, who will first need to be expert users before becoming national trainers. With the support of the RuralInvest core team, these national trainers will undertake the training of new RuralInvest users.

· Which types of business plans can I create with Rural Invest?

RuralInvest is typically used for small-and medium-scale projects in the order of USD 5.000 to USD 500.000, depending on the complexity of the project design.

It can be used in a wide range of for-profit activities such as agriculture, livestock, fisheries, fish farming, forestry, agro-industries, tourism, transport services, handicraft manufacturing, retail stores, wholesale services, storage services, etc.

· Which methodology does RuralInvest use?

RuralInvest methodology is composed of a two-level analysis to pre-select the proposals before developing a detailed business plan which aims for a better use of resources and more effective investment. It is supported by free software that translates participatory data collection into professional-quality business plans while storing the data for monitoring and evaluation. The participatory approach and feedback loops ensure that the entrepreneurs drive the process and take ownership and responsibility for the projects. This way, RuralInvest is an excellent communication tool to link field technicians, entrepreneurs, and bank officials.