What is JASMINE?
JASMINE (Joint Action to Support Microfinance Institutions) is a pilot initiative launched in 2008 by the European Commission, the EIB Group and the European Parliament. The initiative is the operational outcome of the official communication released by the European Commission in November 2007 addressing “A European initiative for the development of micro-credit in support of growth and employment”.
EIF provides Technical Assistance to selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) and micro-credit providers active in the European Union to increase the quality of their internal processes. Such selection results from a due diligence conducted at the end of a “Call for Expression of Interest” process launched by the EIF, which attracted a high level of interest from MFIs.
JASMINE Technical Assistance services consist of:
The Technical Assistance is financed by the European Commission, Directorate General for Regional Policy and it is free of charge to the beneficiary institutions.
The JASMINE Initiative acts as a doorstep to potential funding at a second stage under EIF-managed microfinance mandates, helping non-bank microfinance institutions to scale up their operations and maximise the impact of microfinance products on microenterprises development and unemployment reduction within the European Union.
In 2011, the JASMINE Technical Assistance has entered its final year of implementation and EIF selected the 10 European non-bank microfinance institutions listed below to receive an assessment or a rating and up to twelve days of advisory.
| Country |
Microfinance institution |
| Belgium | |
| Bulgaria |
|
| Italy | |
| Romania | |
| The Netherlands | |
| UK |
In 2010, EIF selected the 15 non-bank microcredit providers here below:
| Country |
Microfinance institution |
| Bulgaria | |
| France | |
| Hungary |
|
| Italy | |
| UK (Scotland) | |
| Romania |
|
| Spain |
|
