Why Trade, not Aid?

We want to promote trade from low income countries. In particular, we want to give businesses in low income countries the chance to offer their products and services to markets which they might not otherwise reach.

These businesses are not necessarily private businesses - they can be also be co-operatives, sole traders or loose alliances of craftsmen and women. But they all do the following:

• provide a product or service of quality
• provide employment
• pay local or national taxes which keep the government from depending exclusively on aid
• try to keep going through good times and lean times

We are not against large-scale aid. It has its part to play in emergency situations and in assisting with expensive infrastructure. But much ends up in the pockets of consultants or manufacturers from the donor country; more is wasted on projects that are ill-researched; and even more is promised but never delivered, or delivered late (as with promised EU aid to Central America after Hurricane Mitch).

Money spent on a quality products or services has much more chance of ending up meeting somebody's basic needs - food, farm implements, education and healthcare.

Our personal experience in running businesses in low income coutnries over many years bears this out. We have seen our staff using their earnings to builds schools, dispensaries and roads.