Lahore - In most ways, Khanum Bibi is an ordinary Punjabi wife. Married 25 years, she and her husband Nisar have raised a son and five daughters in a small village outside Lahore, relying on his income as a day laborer and her work making and embellishing ladies garments with beads at home.

The family squeaked by until hard times struck last year. In the heart of an economic downturn, Nisar was injured in a street accident and could no longer work. Trapped economically, the couple agreed that Bibi should take the unusual step of venturing out of the house and proposed to her neighbors to sell the garments together to get better deals from market vendors.

At just that moment, she got help. A USAID-supported local NGO offered to train her on product design and development, use of raw materials, market demand, and pricing arrangements. The next month, Bibi left her daughters to work at home and became a sales agent - an entrepreneur.

"I have had a difficult life," Bibi said, wiping a tear with her headscarf. "But I feel a tremendous responsibility for my family since my husband's injury. My becoming a sales agent has improved our condition, and also my confidence. Now that I have this opportunity, I want to maximize it.

USAID Pakistan's five-year Entrepreneur project will increase incomes of at least 120,000 micro entrepreneurs like Bibi by developing the capabilities of indigenous NGOs and local private and public sector partners working with micro entrepreneurs and small enterprises and significantly scale-up their operations.

This includes strengthening indigenous service firms and organizations that cater to micro entrepreneurs, introducing new value chain approaches that have potential for application on a large scale, identifying markets beyond traditional handicrafts, and assuring access to higher value markets for increased volumes of products.

Promoting small enterprise development will provide crucial support for rural and suburban economies by creating new opportunities for grass-roots civic and economic engagement in communities.

"We are ensuring responsiveness to a competitive market," said USAID Education Office Director Jim Barnhart. "There's lots of microfinance in this country but not enough business development providing women in business negotiating skills as well as market access and information."

As for Bibi, she keeps Nisar happy by consulting with him on all her important business decisions, and maintaining her established role in the family setting as she slowly breaks down some of Pakistan's social barriers. In the end, he appreciates her ability to keep the family afloat.

"My husband didn't give me the right to work," Bibi said. "I earned it. Today we make joint decisions, and the people in our village understand. USAID has given me new ideas and approaches I never would have considered."