Thirteen of the 22 applicants for this year’s National Microfinance Awards (NMA) are women.

Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Barry Whiteside says while the majority of the applicants are from Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, they have also received applications from Nayau in the Lau Group and Rotuma.

The judging and evaluation process of the microenterprises was based on a process that reviewed business growth, creativity, use of local resources, good record keeping and compliance to Government regulations.

The RBF will tonight host the awards to reward and recognise the country’s best performers for microfinance this year.

The awards are a joint initiative with the National Financial Inclusion Taskforce.