In light of this, how does microfinance banking alleviate the plight of the poor in Pakistan?
Microfinancing is certainly one tool for alleviating poverty, and it’s certainly not the panacea. The current environment in Pakistan has become even more vulnerable with the unprecedented floods that we’ve been facing recently and more and more households have been pushed below the poverty line. For an economy to grow sustainably, development with a pro-poor growth approach needs to take place at all levels. On a micro level, microfinance leaves a strong foot print. For example, we’ve seen in our latest impact assessment that incomes of microfinance clients were 35 percent higher than those who were not availing such facilities, while in a majority of cases women’s self esteem received a major boost both in terms of how they viewed themselves and how others in their families viewed them. As a female entrepreneur in Pakistan do you, in your opinion, encounter hurdles that you might perhaps not otherwise? This question is more a matter of perspective and how one perceives oneself and on
