Amazon announced today a $53 million commitment aimed at boosting climate funding for women, along with a public-private partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to address gender inequities in the climate finance ecosystem and support climate-focused female entrepreneurs.

The new commitments include $50 million for Amazon to invest directly in climate tech companies run by women, with the funding being allocated from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, its venture investment program to back visionary companies developing products and services that facilitate the transition to a zero carbon economy.

Amazon launched the $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund in 2020, aiming to help Amazon and other companies achieve the goals outlined in The Climate Pledge, including reaching net zero carbon by 2040.

Kara Hurst, Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said:

“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.”

Amazon will also commit $3 million and serve as a founding partner to USAID’s Climate Gender Equity Fund, a new climate finance facility designed to remove systemic market barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing climate finance. The globally-focused fund will provide grants for businesses, NGOs, accelerators, incubators, and grassroots organizations working on women-led climate solutions, and fund efforts to help women access the networks and technical skills they need to accelerate the development of their climate change technologies. USAID will match Amazon’s $3 million investment.

Amazon said it will work with Climate Pledge signatories and other companies to encourage additional support and corporate investment in this new fund.

Hurst added:

“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.”