SINGAPORE, (Reuters) HSBC Holdings (NYSE 🙂 announced Thursday that it would launch a $1B lending fund for female-owned businesses in the coming 12 months.

Although HSBC didn’t comment, it appears that the fund is one of the most significant funds of its kind.

Sam Cooper Gray, global head for market strategy at HSBC, stated that funding levels received by women-led companies over time is lower than those of their male counterparts. However, the recent effects of the pandemic have had these businesses disproportionately affected.”

According to her, “Female-owned companies are less likely than male-owned enterprises to have global network connections. This can lead to international expansion being particularly difficult.”

According to HSBC, accessing funding remains a major obstacle for women business leaders around the world. HSBC stated that female-owned businesses received only 3% in start-up funding for 2019,

Both new and old customers can apply for the HSBC Female Entrepreneur Fund. Nearly half of these are in Asia including Hong Kong and Singapore. Additional markets are the United States, Britain, Uruguay and Uruguay.