gE Blog Series: Developing Countries Part 4 - Trade, Not Aid Necessary for Growth of Developing Countries

The United Nations recently forecasted a 3 percent growth in the world economy. Much of this growth is expected to come from developing nations. The majority of this contribution by developing countries comes from growing global powerhouses China and India. A further role they play is in generating a “spill-over” effect to other developing countries, which helps to generate the growth of infrastructure, industry, and trade. One such case which can be examined is that of India and Africa.

As far as the economies of developing nations go, the whole of African countries are expected to grow at a faster rate than Brazil and Eastern Europe, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting a remarkable 4.8 percent growth rate over the next few years. While the development of infrastructure and industry is necessary in the road to becoming “developed,” it all starts with trade. Without investments (both of information and monetary investment), the citizens of developing countries have difficulty getting the necessary capital for infrastructure advancements. India has had similar problems to those of many African countries, and as such, India can serve as a blueprint to African leaders

The key to India’s growth, and what can be the key to Africa’s growth, is the flow of trade as generated by entrepreneurship. Information technology is crucial here, because it provides access to the knowledge that facilitates entrepreneurial ventures. These ventures then serve as points of foreign investment, which provide more capital for infrastructure advancement, which makes for an even more attractive investment opportunity, and the effect compounds upon itself.

The trading of Indian knowledge of e-governance (government making readily available to its citizens what it’s all about online), development of financial institutions, and the use of electronic machines in voting are just a few of the ways India plans on helping African nations create transparency in government, which will hopefully lead to a more attractive investment climate. With a market of over one billion consumers in Africa, the opportunity is there. As far as external support goes, many in Africa would agree that what the African continent (as well as many other developing nations) needs is not aid, but rather trade.