As an investor based in the valley, I've been thinking about this for a long long time. I've traveled most of the world, and always made an effort to meet the l

As an investor based in the valley, I've been thinking about this for a long long time. I've traveled most of the world, and always made an effort to meet the local ecosystem. For the past few years, it's been hard for me to make investments outside of the USA (most of my portfolio is SF-based, with the remainder sprinkled around the US). I have been working on this for a few years, and have finally come to a thesis around international investments. I believe that as an investor with a SV background, the two areas of opportunities are in Southeast Asia and Latin America, specifically. Both regions have significant benefits over others in the world. China and the rest of East Asia has too much of an ingrained culture. Africa is still too poor. Europe is too traditional and doesn't embrace new things. The middle east is a mess. Oceania is too remote and expensive. SEA and Latin America have a rapidly developing economy and middle class (i.e. demand), with an endless supply of cheap labor (i.e. supply). Money goes 10x as far as it does in SV. Both regions are reasonably Westernized and receptive to innovation. I've started making a couple investments in those regions in recent years, and will likely shift some of the portfolio that way long term.