MIcrofinance as a way out of prostitution

Nick Kristof wrote this piece for the New York Times today about a former prostitute in Kenya sewing her way out of poverty. It's an interesting piece and I recommend you read it. He tells the story of this woman who was abandoned by her husband and due to poverty, ended up in prostitution in order to support her family. She joined a women's cooperative and learned to sew dresses, and with the help of a microfinance organization that encouraged her to save her earnings, she managed to start her own business sewing dresses. She's doing okay now, though still living on the edges of poverty, but her kids see a brighter future for themselves.

This story is inspiring and made me wonder if this could work in the US prostitution context. Current alternative to prostitution programs focus on job readiness skills and decreasing addiction and connecting to public services. But I don't think that microfinance is something that is really considered here. For one, starting your own business is incredibly expensive, and saving money and getting all the paperwork alone would be incredibly complicated. But I really like the idea of it-- it somehow feels more empowering than to get a job at McDonald's. Are there US based microfinancing organizations? Would a cooperative model work here to help get women out of poverty and empower them to save? Our current system also doesn't encourage saving at all. I'll have to look into this.