Call for Expression of Interest to select microcredit providers to benefit from JASMINE Technical Assistance

Ref.n. Call for EoI No. JAS-BE/2011/06

The purpose of this Call for Expression of Interest is to select up to 30 European microcredit providers which will benefit from technical assistance under the "JASMINE" initiative throughout the year 2012, in the form presented in section 4 of the present Call for Expression of Interest.

JASMINE technical assistance is designed to facilitate future access to funding from existing and forthcoming EU programs even though being selected for technical assistance under JASMINE does not give any right to access to funding. Applicants to the following Call for Expression of Interest, irrespective of their selection, may also present funding demands to EIF.

HOW TO APPLY
Download here the full text of this call for expression of interest PDF  | Word
If you are a microcredit provider, you should complete and submit an Expression of Interest, as per Annex 1. The list of documents to be provided for the selection process is given in the above mentioned Annex 1, Appendix 4.The mandatory document templates to be filled in, signed and returned to the EIF by regular mail and e-mail (JASMINE@eif.org) before 15th April 2012 are given in Annex 1, Appendices 1, 2 and 3. Applicants are selected on a “first come, first served” basis.

Read here more information on JASMINE
Background on JASMINE

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

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

The European Commission’s communication emphasizes the central role played by microcredit providers for the promotion of financial inclusion and employment. The communication also stresses that adequate technical support is necessary to help these operators release their potential. In this context, the European Commission and the EIB Group agreed to launch JASMINE in 2008 ("Joint action to support microfinance institutions in Europe"). JASMINE is a joint initiative aimed at helping selected microcredit providers to improve the quality of their operations through the provision of non-financial services, in the form of technical assistance.

• Download the full text of the call for expression of interest (pdf)  | Word version
• Annex I
• Annex II