EaSI Technical Assistance
EaSI Technical Assistance (EaSI TA) is a part of the first axis of the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) Programme which is an EU level financing instrument, funded by the European Commission. Its third axis aims to increase the availability and accessibility of microfinance for vulnerable groups and micro enterprises, build up the institutional capacity of microcredit providers and increase access to finance for social enterprises.
Introduction
The European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (henceforth "EaSI") Technical Assistance will continue under the direct management of the European Commission - Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The EaSI Technical Assistance services support public and private financial intermediaries of the microfinance sector in Europe with a wide range of activities aimed at increasing the quality of their internal processes, enhancing access to finance for vulnerable groups in particular, and creating a sustainable European microfinance ecosystem.
The EaSI Technical Assistance services include tailored trainings and trainings on the European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision, ratings, institutional assessments, and Code evaluations – the latter a prerequisite for microfinance institutions that want to benefit from the EaSI Financial Instruments and/or EaSI Grants. In addition, to further strengthen the European microfinance sector and facilitate the exchange and dissemination of good practices the EaSI Technical Assistance team organises peer-to-peer trainings, study visits, and microfinance workshops. Finally, a dedicated Helpdesk facilitates the sharing of best practices and increases awareness for the microfinance sector in Europe.
The Service providers
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is leading a Consortium with the Microfinance Centre and the European Microfinance Network to implement the training services under EaSI Technical Assistance. MFR is implementing the rating, assessment and evaluation services for selected microcredit providers.
For more information, do not hesitate to send an email to easi.ta@fs.de for EaSI Technical Assistance and to easi.ta@mf-rating.com for ratings, institutional assessments and Code evaluations.
The Helpdesk
The fully renovated Helpdesk is a free service accessible at all times on the recently redesigned EaSI MicPro website, the European Commission’s web platform dedicated to microfinance in Europe. The tool aims to assist all institutions and individuals interested in European microfinance and can provide questions to multitude of topics, including: EaSI Financial Instruments, EaSI Technical Assistance for European Microfinance and the European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision.
What services are available?
The EaSI Technical Assistance Programme delivers three strands of support:
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Capacity Building
The EaSI Technical Assistance service providers offer institutional assessments or optional ratings to selected microcredit providers. These services are usually followed by technical assistance in the form of tailored trainings or investment-readiness trainings to increase the quality of internal processes of the organisation.
Accessible only for selected Beneficiaries.
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European Code of Good Conduct
EaSI Technical Assistance offers advice to microcredit providers regarding the implementation of the European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision (the Code) by way of training and evaluating their compliance with all clauses.
Accessible for all European microcredit providers signed up or endorsing the Code.
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Dissemination of Best Practices
The EaSI Technical Assistance team also offers market development services to the wider public in the form of workshops on microfinance related topics, peer-to-peer trainings and study visits, as well as a Helpdesk tool to lodge information requests on microfinance in Europe, in order to help spread best practices and improve the visibility of microfinance in region.
Accessible for all individuals, microenterprises and organisations interested in microfinance in Europe.
Who is eligible?
All microcredit providers (greenfield microfinance institutions, non-bank microcredit providers, guarantee granting institutions and licensed banks with microcredit products) in the 28 member states of the European Union (EU), as well as those in Albania, Iceland, Macedonia, FYROM, Norway, Serbia and Turkey may sign up to the Code and respond to dedicated calls for expression of interest to request technical assistance. Other countries might follow.
How to apply?
To apply, eligible microcredit providers from the EaSI countries of operation must first sign-up to the European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision, a European-wide initiative to promote best practices within the sector. In addition, the institutions should apply to an open Call for Expression of Interest. <= Apply now for the current open call. For more information, visit the European Commission’s webpages dedicated to EaSI Technical Assistance.
Project events & news
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EaSI Technical Assistance Call for Microcredit Providers is open! MFIs, Banks, Fintechs & more can apply now
We are pleased to announce that European microfinance institutions can now apply for technical assistance services under the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) programme. The European Commission has opened a new Call for Expression of Interest for EaSI Technical Assistance services with the goal of selecting microfinance providers interested in improving their operational capacity in order to disburse even more microcredits and microloans to vulnerable groups and micro-enterprises in Europe.
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7 June 2019, Vienna, Austria | 3 EaSI TA Workshops & 1 Investment Readiness Training during EMN post-conference
During the post-conference day of the 16th EMN Annual Conference in Vienna, Austria, three EaSI Technical Assistance workshops took place focusing on an Update of the EaSI programme, Digital Marketing, and Advocacy at EU level. One EaSI TA Investment Readiness Training also took place.
Download the presentations here
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17 May 2019, Hunedoara, Romania | EaSI TA Workshop: Development of Impact Assessment Methodologies
This 1-day workshop, organised in the framework of EaSI Technical Assistance, was proposed for Romanian Credit Unions in order to introduce them to best practices in social impact measurement and assessments and to draw attention to the first steps required to start the process of developing their own tools.
Download the presentations here
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15 March 2019, Brussels | EaSI TA Workshop: Digitalisation Strategy for Microfinance Institutions
This 1-day workshop, organised by the European Microfinance Network (EMN) in the framework of EaSI Technical Assistance, was proposed for selected Microfinance Institutions from Europe who are looking to embrace technology in order to address key strategic organisational challenges and opportunities.
Find and download the presentations
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EaSI TA newsletters - don't miss any update on the project!
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