Today at the 2019 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in The Hague, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Glick announced $1.5 million in new grant funding for the WomenConnect Challenge under the Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative. Led by USAID, the Challenge seeks to bridge the gender digital divide so women can participate fully in the global economy.

The Challenge calls for global solutions that empower women and girls to have access to, and use, digital technology to advance W-GDP's three pillars: 1) Women prospering in the workforce; 2) Women succeeding as entrepreneurs; and 3) Women enabled in the economy by removing restrictive legal, regulatory and cultural barriers. Applications are open online starting on June 5, 2019. Completed applications are due on July 26, 2019. USAID will announce the winners in the Fall of 2019.

The W-GDP WomenConnect Challenge is part of a whole-of-Government effort to advance global women's economic empowerment worldwide. W-GDP seeks to economically empower 50 million women in the developing world by 2025.

Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and USAID Administrator Mark Green launched the W-GDP WomenConnect Challenge on International Women's Day in 2018. Since then, USAID awarded nine grants to organizations that are working to address barriers that limit women's access to technology and to connect nearly one million women in 12 countries.

For more information, visit womenconnectchallenge.org.