Why should venture capitalists invest in emerging markets? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

VCs should invest in emerging markets because they represent the intersection where venture capital is most powerful. We’re talking about young, high-growth markets where incomes are rising and users are not only using mobile, but are often mobile only. We’re also talking about markets and founders that have been previously considered unfundable (or misaligned with mainstream investment theses) and thus overlooked and undervalued.

VCs look for outsized returns and to consistently do so must embrace the right risk profile to buck trends and jump into opportunities without waiting for everyone else to go first. We know that Southeast Asia’s rise massively rewarded funds that entered early when those markets and founders were considered risky and when it was far from clear if the market was going to take off. We think the same will happen in Africa over the next 5 yrs or so.

For VCs and LPs who care about impact (as subjective as that term can be), the early dollar put into a growing startup in Africa that did not have access to affordable, useful capital is powerful. It drives the potential to create markets that alleviate poverty, infuses local developers with practical experience, and crowds in additional investment to the startup ecosystem.

This question originally appeared on Quora. More questions on Quora:

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