Dawn has a good, short article on the state of microfinance in Pakistan. Microfinancing is a promising credit practice in the developing world: banks give small loans to individuals who are attempting to start or improve their businesses. In the case of Pakistan, according to the article, the loans are typically between $100 and $150 (U.S). Microfinance is also billed as a way of improving the lot of poor women in particular. In Pakistan, according to the article, one-third of the loans are to women.

For further reading, you can check out the U.N. Capital Development Fund's Microfinance Page. The World Bank also has an interesting paper that examines five microcredit programs in Indonesia. Indonesia has had microcredit programs for over 100 years. The paper is available in PDF format here.