Providing financial services in rural areas is a particular challenge as agriculture has unique characteristics of dependence on natural resources, long production cycles and vulnerability to risks, while scattered populations greatly increase operating costs. This Learning Centre aims to bring together resources that can help financial service providers to operate efficiently in this environment and increase their outreach in a sustainable manner.

You can browse for resources under the following sub-headings:

• Banks: commercial, rural, agricultural and a special sub-topic on Islamic banking
• Financial products: information on deposit, insurance, lease, loan and payment products, and product development
• Governance: the role of directors and relationships with management
• Informal mechanisms: savings clubs, self help groups, moneylenders
• Management: accounts, costing and pricing, debt recovery, human resources, lending procedures, risk management and more
• Member-owned institutions: cooperatives, credit unions, financial service associations and village banking
• Microfinance institutions: regulated, unregulated, NGOs and other non-bank financial institutions
• Mission and impact: information about researching target markets and how to measure impact and client satisfaction
• Non-banking services: the issues surrounding the provision of business development and other forms of advice
• Rural outreach: looking at ways of reducing costs in remote area operations and supporting livelihood development
• Supply chain finance: contract farming and other inter-linking arrangements

Here at the top level you can find a few documents that provide good general overviews and glossaries of terms.