The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

EU/ACP Microfinance Framework Programme

Call for Proposals

The EU/ACP Microfinance Programme is pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for our Call for Proposals, which aims at strengthening the institutional capacity of microfinance actors in African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

We are soliciting applications that meet at least one of the four following objectives:

1. Diversifying financial services for the poor
2. Applying technology to reduce the transaction costs of financial services
3. Assisting the expansion of outreach in underserved markets
4. Enhancing transparency in the microfinance industry

We are looking for proposals from specialised organisations with a proven track record in supporting microfinance development. These organisations can be:

• Retail financial service providers (MFIs, downscaled-banks, credit unions etc) and their associations and networks
• Providers of technical and business services to the microfinance sector
• Providers of wholesale finance keen on building capacity of microfinance suppliers in order to catalyse investments into more risky regions/institutions

The total allocation for the Call for Proposals is 7.2 million EUR. The funding available for co-financing a proposed action is a minimum of 250.000 and a maximum of 1 million EUR.

For More Information

If your organisation is interested in strengthening the microfinance sector in ACP countries, we encourage you to go to our Web site (www.euacpmicrofinance.org) to learn more about our Call for Proposals and how to apply for it. Please also find attached for your information the Guidelines for the Call for Proposals ( see also http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/acp/microfinance/docs/guidelines_en.pdf) and a copy of the Application form. The dead line for submission of application is 20 October 2005.

If you need further clarification, please contact:

Ms. Antonique Koning, Programme Coordinator (based in Brussels), Email: info@euacpmicrofinance.org, Tel. +32 (0) 2 552 0033 Fax +32 (0) 2 552 0025