JEREMIE Holding Fund Greece: Call for expression of interest to select Financial Intermediary to implement the Risk Capital Financial Instruments in the ICT sector

The JEREMIE initiative is a framework providing a series of coherent actions to promote increased access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The JEREMIE initiative in Greece is organised through the European Investment Fund (hereinafter, “EIF”) acting through the JEREMIE Holding Fund (hereinafter, “JHF”). Through the JHF, the EIF manages funds made available from the European Regional Development Fund (hereinafter, “ERDF”) and related public expenditure granted for utilisation under the JEREMIE initiative.

As part of the Sectoral Operational Programmes “Digital Convergence” and “Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship” and the Regional Operational Programmes “Macedonia - Thrace”, “Crete and Aegean Islands”, “Thessaly - Continental Greece - Epirus” and “Attica” for the period 2007-2013[1], defined in detail within the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013 of Greece[2], the competent national authorities have agreed to dedicate resources to the implementation of the JEREMIE initiative with the EIF, in accordance with Article 44 of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1083/2006[3] (hereinafter, “Reg. 1083/2006”) and in accordance with the provisions of the Funding Agreement (hereinafter, “Funding Agreement”) entered into on 26 June 2007 and amended on 5 October 2010, between the Government of the Hellenic Republic, represented by the Ministry of Regional Development and Competitiveness (hereinafter, the “HR”) and EIF. Relevant rules for implementing Reg. 1083/2006 are set out in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1828/2006[4] (hereinafter, “Reg. 1828/2006”). The cooperation between the HR and the EIF acting through the JHF is governed by the Funding Agreement, which defines the type of cooperation and the operational modalities of the JHF financing expenditure in respect of an operation, as this term is defined in Reg. 1083/2006 (hereinafter, “Operation”) comprising contributions to support financial engineering instruments. The EIF acting through the JHF is advised by the Investment Board, members of which are nominated by the Greek authorities (hereinafter, “Investment Board”). EIF in its capacity acting through the JHF acts on the basis of its usual business principles and an investment strategy and planning for the implementation of the JEREMIE initiative.

The JEREMIE initiative is funded by the following Operational Programmes for the period 2007–2013, as described in particular in the table below:

This Call for Expression of Interest targets financial engineering instruments referred to in Article 44 of Reg. 1083/2006 and is addressed to bodies or firms, whether public or private, which are interested in receiving resources out of the JHF for the activities in respect of Operations (hereinafter “Financial Intermediaries”). Their activities shall be carried out in accordance with the contractual agreements to be entered into by the JHF and the selected Financial Intermediary(-ies) (hereinafter, “Operational Agreement(s)”).

The Financial Intermediaries should express their interest by completing and submitting an Expression of Interest, a template of which is attached hereto as Annex 1. 

1.     Definitions and Interpretation 

In this Call for Expression of Interest, capitalised terms and expressions shall have the meaning attributed to them below, unless otherwise defined above or the context requires otherwise. In addition to the above, the table below should be read by taking into account the meaning attributed to certain technical and industry-specific terms by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 OJ L 214, 9.8.2008, p. 3-47 (General block exemption Regulation) ("Reg. 800/2008").

2.     Holding Fund manager

European Investment Fund, 96 Boulevard Konrad Adenauer L-2968 Luxembourg. General internet address of the JEREMIE Holding Fund manager (URL): www.eif.org

Under the Funding Agreement, the EIF may be substituted in its role as JHF manager. In the event of such substitution, the HR, or the entity appointed by the HR as new JHF, will assume the full discretion and responsibility to perform the tasks of the JHF and to implement the Operations in Greece, and may take over the Financial Instruments. The Operational Agreements will provide for the possible substitution of the EIF, in order to allow the transfer of the Operational Agreements to the successor entity.

3.     Description of the activities expected from the selected Financial Intermediaries

The selected Financial Intermediaries will have to implement the Financial engineering Instrument briefly described in the table below. A Financial Instrument shall either be set up as an independent legal entity governed by agreements between the co-financing partners or shareholders or as a separate block of finance within a Financial Intermediary. As provided by Reg. 1828/2006, a separate block of finance shall be subject to specific implementation rules within the Financial Intermediary, stipulating, in particular, that separate accounts are kept which distinguish the JHF resources invested in the Financial Instrument, including those contributed by the Operational Programme, from those initially available in the Financial Intermediary.

It is planned to allocate out of the JHF an indicative amount of EUR 30 million to the Financial Instruments from the Sectoral Operational Programme “Digital Convergence” and the Regional Operational Programmes “Macedonia-Thrace – Central Macedonia” and “Attica”.

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See below list of indicative allocation and the relevant Annex setting out the Selection Criteria and the description of the Financial Instruments.

The Financial Intermediaries shall clearly express their interest for contribution (in terms of amounts requested) and may express their interest for a contribution up to the maximum allocation.

The indicative capital allocated to the Financial Instrument, as well as the amounts available for contribution by the JHF to the selected Financial Intermediary, and the indicative number of Financial Intermediaries selected, may be changed as necessary, at EIF’s sole discretion, particularly if the funding available changes during the JHF implementation process or the demand for the Financial Instrument so requires.

To be noted that joint ventures and/or consortia can express their interest, as long as they indicate/nominate one coordinating entity as a contractual counterpart for the JHF for the entire term of the Operational Agreement (in case of selection). Such Applicants are required to submit one, joint Expression of Interest in which the coordinating entity should be indicated.

4.     Expression of Interest

A template for the Expression of Interest is attached hereto as Annex 1, and can also be found at the following internet addresses: www.eif.org , www.espa.gr.

The Expression of Interest includes the Applicant’s identification, the project description (see Appendix 2 to Annex 1), the supporting documents, the declaration of absence of conflict of interest and the statements regarding situations of exclusion.

Until no later than 14 June 2011, the Applicants may request clarifications regarding the Call for Expression of Interest or the nature of the Financial Instrument. Such requests must indicate the Call for Expression of Interest reference number and the name of the Applicant and shall be submitted in English via email to:

Regional Business Development Unit
European Investment Fund
info.rbd@eif.org

Requests for clarifications from Applicants shall not receive individual replies. Instead, answers to all requests for clarifications received within the relevant deadline will be published together in a clarification document to be posted on the website: www.eif.org.

EIF will, in principle, not contact any Applicant prior to the Deadline, unless it considers it necessary to clarify issues of a mere technical nature.

Should EIF discover any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or any other type of clerical defect in the text of the Call for Expression of Interest before the Deadline, EIF will correct the text and inform accordingly.

5.     Language

The Expressions of Interest, including its annexes and the requested documents, shall be in English.

6.     Submission of Expression of Interest

The Expressions of Interest shall be submitted on or before the Deadline both by (i) e-mail and (ii) registered mail or professional courier service. The Expressions of Interest sent by registered mail or professional courier service shall consist of a closed single package, and shall contain the Expression of Interest, together with its attachments, in paper form and in removable electronic storage medium (e.g. CD-ROM).

The Deadline for the submission of Expressions of Interest is 30 June 2011.

The Deadline applies (i) in case of e-mails to the reception by EIF and (ii) in case of registered mail or professional courier service to the date of dispatch proven by the post office stamp or a dispatch receipt.

The Expressions of Interest shall indicate the reference number of the Call (No. JER-001/2011/2) and the name of the Applicant and shall be sent to the following address:

Postal Address:

European Investment Fund
Attention: Regional Business Development Unit
96 Boulevard Konrad Adenauer
L-2968 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG

The outer envelope (package) shall indicate the following:
“Expression of Interest - Reference number of the Call (No. JER-001/2011/2) - Not to be opened by the reception – To be passed without opening to Regional Business Development Unit”).

E-mail Address: Attention: Regional Business Development Unit - info.rbd@eif.org

Prior to the Deadline and in the same manner as specified above, the Applicants may change or amend their Expressions of Interest by clearly indicating the parts to be changed or amended.

Prior or after the Deadline and in the same manner as specified above, the Applicants may withdraw their Expressions of Interest.

After the Deadline, an acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to the relevant Applicants by the EIF via e-mail, which shall state the following:

• Unique proposal identifier (Expression of Interest number);
• Reference number of the Call for Expression of Interest;
• Confirmation that the Expression of Interest was received before the Deadline.

The acknowledgement of receipt shall not be construed as a declaration of completeness of the Expression of Interest and the documents submitted therewith, nor any kind of assessment of the same.

7.     Selection process

When selecting Financial Intermediaries, EIF is committed to respect fundamental principles, such as:

i)   equal treatment,

ii)   non-discrimination,

iii)  confidentiality and

iv)  transparency.

The Expressions of Interest will be examined by the EIF, on a comparative basis, using professional analysis and judgment, taking into account the Selection Criteria.

The EIF will reject those Expressions of Interest which do not comply with the Eligibility Criteria. Financial Intermediaries, whose application is rejected because of non-compliance with any of the elements reflected in the statements regarding situations of exclusion (Appendices  5 and 6 to Annex 1 hereto), may not present themselves for consideration in subsequent Calls for the Expression of Interest unless it is specifically evidenced that the reason for the exclusion no longer exists.

The expiration of the Deadline shall not prevent EIF, in limited cases if deemed necessary, from requesting and receiving from Applicants clarifications on issues of a mere technical or formal nature, provided that such clarifications shall neither provide an opportunity to the respective Applicants to unduly improve their applications nor otherwise distort the competition between the Applicants.

Applicants who are not excluded according to the Eligibility Criteria will go through the EIF selection process based on the Quality Assessment Criteria. The further selection based on the Quality Assessment Criteria, and the due diligence process if any, follows the standard procedures and guidelines applied by EIF to its business. The evaluation of proposals at this phase will be conducted under competitive terms and it is envisaged to select one or more Applicants overall.

In any phase of the selection process, EIF reserves itself full discretion to consider Financial Intermediaries and no Applicant has any claim or other right or may expect to be ultimately selected for financial support by the JHF.  

Similarly, any negotiation of terms and conditions of Operational Agreements by no means entails any obligation for EIF and/or the JHF to enter into such Operational Agreement with the relevant Financial Intermediaries.

Financial Intermediaries which who are not selected are informed accordingly; the reasons for their Expression of Interest being rejected may be clearly communicated to them upon request.

Those Applicants, whose Expression of Interest is rejected, shall have the right to submit a written complaint by e-mail and registered mail or professional courier service, to the same address used for the submission of the Expressions of Interest above, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the letter of rejection. Any complaints will be dealt within the framework and in accordance with the EIB Group complaints policy.

8.     Operational Provisions 

The Financial Intermediaries, with which Operational Agreements will be eventually signed, shall be required to comply with the EIF anti-fraud policy, and with the relevant monitoring, reporting, publicity and auditing obligations required by the EU regulations, applicable to ERDF, including the application of the Greek management and control system - approved by the European Commission - and by the Funding Agreement. Such obligations are briefly described in the relevant Financial Instrument description documents, and will be defined in the relevant Operational Agreement.

ANNEXES

 Annex 1.Expression of Interest

 Annex 2.Early Stage ICT Fund: Description and Selection Criteria

 Annex 3.Seed/Technology Transfer ICT Fund(s) Description and Selection Criteria