Amazon and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have announced the launch of a $56 million public-private partnership to address gender inequities for women in the climate finance ecosystem and support female entrepreneurs with the resources they need to accelerate climate change innovations.

The commitment includes $3 million from Amazon and a $3 million match from USAID to launch USAID’s Climate Gender Equity Fund, a global finance facility designed to remove systemic market barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing climate finance and help women access the networks and technical skills they need to accelerate the development of their technologies.

In addition, Amazon is allocating $50 million from its Climate Pledge Fund to invest in women-founded and -led climate tech companies and incubators and accelerators that prioritize women-led entities, as well as collaborate with USAID to source new investment opportunities and broaden its pipeline of female applicants.

“As an important step in solving climate change, we must address the gender inequalities that persist in climate finance, and ensure female entrepreneurs have an equal seat at the table and access to the funding, networks, and technical support they need to scale climate solutions,” said Amazon vice president of worldwide sustainability Kara Hurst. “We’re proud to collaborate with USAID and the Biden administration to help scale women-led climate solutions globally. This is just one part of our broader Climate Pledge goal to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, and we encourage other companies to join us in this effort.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/AJ Watt)