Brown Venture Group LLC, a Black-owned venture capital firm formed to fund Indigenous, Black, and Latinx technology entrepreneurs, has announced an investment in Big Navajo Energy. The amount was undisclosed.

Founded in 2012 and based in Arizona, the Indigenous-owned and operated clean energy solutions company is expanding its ability to capture and produce hydrogen from sustainable natural resources on native land. They will then transport the power source to its customers on and off tribal land and rural communities as an alternative clean fuel. Big Navajo Energy is overseeing a fuel cell hydrogen energy plant in Long Beach, California.

“Indigenous nations are one of the most underfunded communities with the most upside potential of any group of contributors in America and Brown Venture Group is excited to support the innovations of Big Navajo Energy,” Paul Campbell, co-founder and managing partner of Brown Venture Group, said in a statement.

“While venture capital investment in minority communities remains small, it is practically nonexistent in tribal communities,” he added. “This is not because there are not good deals... It is because most non-diverse investors lack the relational networks into tribal communities, and therefore, miss out on differentiated deal flow that is often found in diverse-led innovative businesses.”

According to a recent Olin Brookings Commission report, in 2021, a mere 0.013 per cent of venture dollars were directed to Indigenous businesses, even though they represent 2.09 per cent of the population, a release reads.

Since launching in 2018, Brown Venture Group has forged inclusive collaborations with tribal governments nationwide, NASA, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (a partnership driven by the Pro Bono Advisory Council). In addition, the venture capital fund has invested in more than 30 technology startups in various industries, including clean energy, fintech, health, tech, and software.

Dory Peters, president and CEO of Big Navajo Energy, said the investment will “…address energy challenges faced not only by our communities but (U.S.) rural areas overall.”

“Big Navajo Energy has spent the past decade bringing clean energy solutions to tribal communities throughout North America and this investment by Brown Venture Group will assist us in continuing to build that self-sufficient ecosystem...” Peters said.