Anyone who is working to improve the range and quality of financial services available to rural people and who has experience, knowledge and resources to share. It is hoped that this will include policy makers, donors, practitioners in banks, cooperatives, non-bank financial institutions and non-governmental organisations, community development workers and other advisory staff working in rural villages. It may also include the staff of academic institutions and training centres and consultants working on financial service issues in rural development.

The resources of the RFLC are available freely to those who wish to use them but, by becoming members, users can suggest knowledge to be added to topics in the resources gateway, news and events to be added to the news gateway, training courses to be added to the training gateway and take part in discussions in the discussions gateway.

Members can subscribe to topics throughout the site that particularly interest them. They will then receive email alerts and have access to a screen in the my info section which summarises recent activity in these topics. Read more in the my info help file.

Members are particularly important to the development of the Rural Finance Learning Centre as it is only by the contributions of new knowledge objects that the resources section will grow and contain material appropriate to a wide range of people in many countries of the world. Discussions will also be important in the process of sharing innovations, best practice and challenging misconceptions in the field of rural finance. Members will also be vital to show the site sponsors and developers that people are interested in the resources offered and by so doing can help to secure funding for the maintenance and further development of the Learning Centre. Learn more about how to add knowledge to the system.

As a member you will be able to change your member information and preferences in the my info explorer section. You can also highlight yourself by posting a link to your CV in your member profile and you can feature your organisation as a contact.

You may become a member by completing the form that will open if you click either the Register Now! link on the sidebar of the RFLC or the Register link in the Participate! section of the homepage. The registration process adds your contact details into the RFLC. Once completed, you will receive an email confirming your username and providing you with a password which enables you to login. Your username will be your first name and your family name in lowercase letters and separated by a space. When you are logged in you will see a link my info in the Member login section of the side bar. Click this to go to the My Settings screen where you can change your password and set your login preferences.

To edit your member information go to the contacts gateway, select members on the sidebar and then click on the edit button beside your name.