Are Pakistan's Women Entrepreneurs Being Served by the Microfinance Sector?

Fostering the entrepreneurship of women is important for Pakistan's economic growth and inclusion agenda, and access to financial services is an important component of starting and growing a business for women entrepreneurs. However, Pakistan's microfinance sector is lagging in its outreach to women clients. The book explores why business women in Pakistan may not be interested or able to use microfinance products to meet their start-up and working capital requirements, in spite of identifying access to finance as a key constraint to their business operations. Furthermore, the work highlights that women borrowers are often not the final users of loan, but rather are conduits to male household members, highlighting the pressing need for better consumer protection for women clients.