Ref. n. JAS-BE/2010/05

The purpose of this Call for Expression of Interest is to select up to 20 European non-bank microcredit providers which will benefit from technical assistance under the "JASMINE" initiative throughout the year 2011. Applicants to the present Call for Expression of Interest, irrespective of their selection, remain eligible to request financing under the various programs managed by EIF.

JASMINE ("Joint action to support microfinance institutions in Europe") is a joint initiative - launched in 2008 by the the European Commission and the European Investment Bank Group - aimed at helping MFIs/ microcredit providers to improve the quality of their operations, to expand and to become self-sustainable through the provision of both financial and non-financial services to MFIs/microcredit providers. JASMINE consists of a pilot phase covering the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The selection for technical assistance under JASMINE (as detailed in Section 3 of the Call) does not give any right to access to funding, but technical assistance has been designed to facilitate future access to funding from existing and forthcoming EU programs.

Interested non-bank microfinance institutions should express their interest by completing and submitting an Expression of Interest (see: Annex I). The list of documents to be provided for the selection process is given in Annex 1, Appendix 4.

Background
On 13^th November 2007, the European Commission adopted a Communication (COM (2007) 708) on a “European Initiative for development of microcredit in support of growth and employment”[1] (hereafter, “the Initiative”) whose objective is to promote the development of microcredit in the European Union. The Initiative comprises four different strands:

Improving the legal and institutional environment in the Member States;
Further changing the climate in favour of entrepreneurship;
Promoting the spread of best practices;
Providing additional capital for microcredit institutions.

The Initiative strives to reinforce the role played by microfinance institutions (MFIs) / microcredit providers in improving the provision of microcredit in Europe, an essential instrument for financial inclusion and employment. “COM (2007) 708” also stresses that adequate technical support is necessary in helping these operators release their potential.

[1] Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: a European Initiative for the development of microcredit in support of growth and employment - COM (2007)708 final.

1. Definitions and Interpretation

Applicant	means a non-bank microfinance institution applying to this Call for Expression of Interest;
Award Criteria	means the criteria applied by EIF to select the eligible beneficiaries;
Deadline	means 19 November 2010;
Eligibility Criteria	means the minimum criteria with which the Expression of Interest and the Applicants must comply and which are listed in Annex 2 hereof;
Exclusion Criteria	means the exclusion list as detailed in Annex 1, appendix 3 hereof;
Expression of Interest	means a proposal sent by an Applicant in response to this Call for Expression of Interest, within the deadline, to be drafted in accordance with the template attached hereto as Annex 1;
JASMINE	means “Joint Action to Support Microfinance Institutions in Europe” launched by the European Commission and managed by the European Investment Bank Group to provide both financial and non-financial support to non-bank microcredit providers in the EU. When referring to JASMINE in the document thereafter, it will only concern JASMINE Technical Assistance;
MFIs; Microcredit provider, or; MFI/Microcredit provider	means any non-bank microfinance institution/microcredit provider meeting the Eligibility Criteria as set out in Annex 2 hereof;
Selection Criteria	means the Eligibility Criteria and the Award Criteria;
Technical Assistance; TA	means Technical Assistance provided in the framework of the JASMINE Initiative. Technical Assistance support will take the form described in section 3 below.

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