Ten First Nations investors are changing the way Blak businesses and entrepreneurs are perceived in a new partnership between the Minderoo Foundation and the US Department of State.
Dubbed the 'Blak Angels Investment Network' this is an initiative for First Nations businesses led by First Nations investors and entrepreneurs who have 'been there, done that'.
The ten 'Blak Angels' will travel to the US in September of this year to learn from Native American, Latino and African American investors within the US investment ecosystem.
The myriad of 'Blak Angels' includes Dream Ventures graduate Alisha Geary and ex-Amazing Race contestant Jerome Cubillo.
The first international project of Generation One, Les Delaforce, head of First Nations entrepreneurship and industry at Minderoo Foundation's Generation One said this is a new way of investing and business.
"This is not a handout, but this is a hand-up, we can build these relationships and deliver as we're having business," he said
"This is a new frontier for us, for investment.
"And replicating what has been done well, what's worked in the past and also leverage what hasn't worked across not just here in Australia but across the US."
The Australian 'Blak Angels' are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs and business people spanning from Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin, Cairns and Kempsey.
The network aims to facilitate more investment into First Nations start-ups and create more jobs for First Nations people.
It will also see more First Nations people work within the space of investment, promoting economic development and empowerment.
Blak Angels executive and founding member Morgan Coleman shared his experiences searching for new opportunities and investments in a city that at times felt "alien".
The Torres Strait Islander man said his experience has also been the reality for many First Nations people.
"The problem is that they come up against inter-generational obstacles that our non-Indigenous peers and those we compete for capital with, simply do not face," Coleman said.
"Australia currently has a chasm between what is publicly promised and what is privately delivered by even the most well-meaning venture capitalists.
"Well we can't experience those that have not walked a step in their shoes to know what it's like to walk a mile."
The Perth United States Consul General, Siriana Nair said this highlights a different aspect of the US and Australia Alliance.
It comes as US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited Australia earlier this year.
"We've seen a lot of relationships developing between our First Nations people in both countries," Ms Nair said.
"There are a lot of similarities and a lot that both of our countries and cultures can learn from each other."
The ten First Nations Blak Angels are Kent Matla, Jahna Cedar, Alisha Geary, Jerome Cubillo, Amanda Healy, Gordon Cole, Jake Berthelot, Carole Vale, Darryl Lyons and Jaynaya Winmar.
