At a time when the world’s richest nations are sinking into debt and middle-class consumers everywhere are defaulting on their loans, lending capital to the world’s poor hardly seems sensible. Yet, the practice of providing small loans to low-income entrepreneurs known as microfinance has never been more popular, or more imperative. Microfinance facilities have existed for decades, but have only recently attracted global attention as a commercially viable tool that can offer real opportunities for micro entrepreneurs. However, the development and the rules & regulation of microfinance as a stand-alone sector, as well as the business environment in which it operates, differ from region to region.

To map the differences in the landscape for microfinance globally, the Microcredit Summit Campaign (MSC) has launched a status report that addresses the latest issues faced by the industry and the micro credit facilities on offer throughout the region. The report also shares details on a new initiative by MSC which is designed to recognize institutions from the globe that are committed to the economic uplifting of the people. Under this very initiative the MSC ranks Khushhalibank, a premier Pakistani microfinance organization, as one of the biggest microfinance entities of the region currently served two and a half million relationships and over four hundred thousand active clients. Commenting on this announcement, Ghalib Nishtar, President, Khushhalibank, stated “The ranking of Khushhalibank amongst the biggest microfinance organizations in the region reflects our firm resolve and sheer commitment to empower the people of Pakistan.” Further commenting on the micro credit facilities available in Pakistan, he said “Access to credit for self-employment and other financial and business services must be given to the poor families of Pakistan. These facilities will help them overcome the harsh realities and cruelties of extreme poverty.”

According to the report, more than 128 million of the world's poorest families received micro loans in 2009 which is an all-time high. The Microcredit Summit Campaign Report is the largest and most comprehensive annual report on the outreach of microfinance to the poor and very poor. The report holds great significance from the Pakistani perspective as well since there are currently over 2.0 million active microfinance borrowers. The 2011 report also analyses the progress of the Microcredit Summit Campaign and the global microfinance industry over the past year. The preparation of this report involved the interview scores of industry leaders from the microfinance industry, capturing their thoughts on the issues facing the microfinance sector.

The report emphasizes upon the microfinance community to develop a solid technique to identify organizations that demonstrate extra ordinary success in achieving the transformational dimension of microfinance by helping poor people to come out of abject poverty. The Microcredit Summit Campaign has taken on this challenging task by shepherding a consultative process on creating a Seal of Excellence for microfinance. The Campaign’s greatest challenge is bridging the gap between its commitment to reaching the poorest population and the lack of effective poverty measurement tools.