Investing in Emerging Markets with Jim Chu, Founder and CEO of Untapped

Our guest for this episode is a long-time investor in emerging and frontier markets. He has identified some exciting, “untapped” opportunities for investment, and today, he’s going to share his insights with us.

Jim Chu is the founder and CEO of Untapped, a global tech-for-good company that aims to bridge the investment gap in frontier markets and enable entrepreneurs to scale to their full potential.

Jim has recognized a $5.2 trillion investment gap in SMEs in developing countries, as well as a $3.9 trillion chasm in the Global South. It’s something he likes to call a “VC blindspot,” because it cannot be accessed by traditional models of investing. 

Untapped’s most recent efforts are focused on Africa, a booming market with a very high population growth rate, and amazing FinTech opportunities. By creating better, more suitable financing instruments, they wish to provide alternative funding opportunities for emerging market entrepreneurs.

In this episode, Jim will share his experiences of investing in the African market. We’ll also discuss the differences between investing in Africa and the US, the limitations of institutional investing, and why passion and profit aren’t mutually exclusive.

Key points discussed 

- What makes almost every investment in Africa meaningful? (00:00)

- Why is Jim Chu focusing on Africa (1:54)

- One of the biggest issues with traditional investing (05:34)

- Why investing in emerging markets requires nuance and empathy (08:01)

- You don’t need to be an impact investor to invest in Africa (10:55)

- Profit and impact aren’t mutually exclusive (15:19)

- How does investing in emerging markets support the decentralization of power? (18:28)

- The distribution of wealth in Africa by gender (20:29)

- Two of the most exciting trends in investing (22:25)

- People want their dollar to matter (25:54)

Additional resources

Learn more about Untapped and their work here:

https://untapped-global.com/

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This content is provided for educational purposes only by Republic. Nothing discussed should be construed as legal, tax, accounting, or investing advice. The views of the presenters may not be the views of Republic and its affiliates. Always consult with trusted professional advisors before making investments. Private investments are inherently illiquid and may result in a total loss. All rights reserved.