Amazon commits $53M to women-led, climate tech firms, incubators

Amazon is allocating $50 million from its Climate Pledge Fund — Amazon’s venture capital program that invests in companies pioneering decarbonizing technologies and solutions — to invest in women-founded and women-led climate tech companies, as well as incubators and accelerators that prioritize women-led entities.

The Amazon press release states that female-founded companies typically receive a fraction of global venture capital, and that percentage fell during the pandemic, yet research shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely than their male counterparts to innovate to address social needs. Women-led companies also generate more revenue per dollar invested and produce greater ROI for investors.

It is unclear what portion of the $50 million allocation is likely to remain in the U.S. Paired with the announcement was another in which Amazon provided $3 million match to a similar-sized investment from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to seed the Climate Gender Equity Fund. The new fund is a public-private partnership intended to address the gender inequities that exist for women in the climate finance ecosystem and support female entrepreneurs with the resources they need to accelerate climate change innovations. President Biden announced the creation of the Climate Gender Equity Fund among several other larger climate-related initiatives at COP 27 in Egypt on Nov. 11.

Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund will collaborate with USAID and the Climate Gender Equity Fund to source new investment opportunities and broaden its pipeline of female applicants.