Questions & Answers to the Call for Expression of Interest to select JASMINE Technical Assistance beneficiaries (Non-bank MFIs)

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Q1. Can you clarify when the Rating is made available to the staff and management of JASMINE Beneficiaries (as well as EIF and the European Commission) - presumably this is only after the final rating - with the benefit of the Technical Assistance training?

A1.The final Rating report is made available to the staff and management of the JASMINE Beneficiaries on average two months after the on-site visit of Microfinanza Rating or Planet Rating Analysts.

JASMINE Beneficiaries usually receive an Assessment or a Rating from Planet Rating or Microfinanza Rating prior to receive any training from the Microfinance Centre, and the training exercise is not followed by any additional Assessment or Rating exercise. In 2011, EIF is considering giving the option to JASMINE Beneficiaries to receive either first the Assessment or Rating exercise, followed by the trainings; or, first the trainings, followed by the Assessment or Rating exercise. For the avoidance of doubt, this option has still to be agreed by our Mandator the European Commission.

Q2. Is there any requested length for the „Internal note on the development stage of the risk assessment methodology, portfolio management and governance structures" that should be attached as one of the document for evaluation?

A2. There is no requested length for the "Internal note on the development stage of the risk assessment methodology, portfolio management and governance structures". Applicants are free to present in a detailed manner the development stage of the risk assessment methodology, portfolio management and governance structures.

Q3. Is there any requested length or template for the applicant description?

A3. There is a template for the applicant identification, not for the applicant description. The applicant description should be a short summary of the institution, providing background information such as the year of inception, the regulatory status of the microfinance intermediary, the main products offered to its clients, the area of operation...etc. This list is not exhaustive; applicants shall be free to present their institution in the way they deem the most appropriate.

Q4. List of eligibility criteria – if the applicant institution does not fulfil all the criteria, is it automatically excluded from the evaluation? (e.g. if the applicant does not dedicate more than 50% of its loan portfolio to micro loans)

A4. Yes, not complying with the eligibility criteria is a cause for rejection.

Q5. In ANNEX 2 to the Call for Expression of Interest No JAS-BE/2010/05 – JASMINE Technical Assistance: Selection Criteria.

In the section of AWARD CRITERIA, there are only 2.1 to 2.6 but under the chart, there is note saying that the information provided by the candidates must be precise, complete and sorted so that EIF is able to clearly and appropriately verify the AWARD CRITERIA from 2.1 to 2,7 above. However, there are only criteria from 2.1 to 2.6 listed.

A5. There are 6 (six) Award Criteria, referenced from 2.1 to 2.6. The sentence below the chart should read: "The information provided by the candidates must be precise, complete and sorted so that EIF is able to clearly and appropriately verify the AWARD CRITERIA from 2.1 to 2.6 above". There is no Award criteria referenced 2.7. Please accept our apologies for this typographical mistake.

Q6. In case of receiving the JASMINE Technical Assistance, who will decide whether Assessment or Rating will be made?

A6. The JASMINE Beneficiaries are the ones who decide if they want to receive an Assessment or a Rating. Applicants may find on page 4 of the Call for expression of Interest a description of the main differences between an Assessment and a Rating. Once selected, the JASMINE Beneficiaries will enter into direct contact with the Rating Agencies partnering with EIF in the framework of JASMINE (Microfinanza Rating and Planet Rating) to inform the Rating Agencies on their preference and eventually discuss with them the best suitable type of diagnostic they should receive (Assessment or Rating).

Q7. In case of receiving the JASMINE Technical Assistance, where the tailor-made training will take place? In the region of the beneficiary institution? In what language?

A7. The experts from the Microfinance Centre are providing the trainings directly in the headquarters of the JASMINE Beneficiary. If the JASMINE Beneficiary is a microcredit provider deploying its activities at a national scale, the trainings may also be organised at a central place in the country in order to facilitate the attendance to the trainings of the staff working in the decentralized branches of the institution. In any case the costs incurred for renting the training room (if not organised in the headquarters of the JASMINE beneficiary) and the costs incurred by the JASMINE Beneficiary to attend the trainings are covered by EIF.

The total maximum number of training days is twelve days per JASMINE Beneficiary and the overall training shall be delivered in maximum three different sessions, throughout 2011. All details for the organisation of the trainings are arranged between the Microfinance Centre and the JASMINE Beneficiary.

The experts from the Microfinance Centre are able to provide trainings in most EU spoken languages. Besides interprets and translators may be available during the trainings to ensure that all the staff of the JASMINE Beneficiaries appropriately understand the training content.

Q8. Could you please clarify GNI per capita ratio?

A8. The ratio Average loan balance per borrower / GNI per capita is used to estimate the social outreach of a microcredit provider. The lower the ratio, the more the institution targets socially excluded/impoverished clients.

The ratio can be calculated by dividing the Average loan balance per borrower (data available within each institution) by the Growth National Income per capita (data available in each national Bureau of Statistics).

1): The ratio shall be calculated for the year 2009. If ever the 2009 GNI per capita indicator was not available it shall then be calculated for the year 2008.

2):Interested applicants may also use the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) per capita indicator if ever the GNI per capita indicator was not available.