Final statement

Reading the posts on our blog one thing I think we all could agree on: ask the local population what they need is of the most importance in development aid.
For me this is also the most important thing in development aid. You don’t know what you’re doing when you don’t know if the local population wants you to do it, thus communication is key in these kinds of projects.

Keeping this in mind I think both big companies and small development aid organizations can improve the quality of live in developing countries. The main differences between the two, for me, are the scale and the type of aid.

Big companies
These companies often have more resources and can have an impact on a bigger scale or area, but I think they are limited to a smaller spectrum of help. The help they provide, that will improve the quality of life of the locals often is associated with, and limited by, the activity of the company itself. The main goal for these companies most of the times is not the aid, but turning a profit. The country they are based in just happens to be a developing one. The help they provide also creates a better image for the company both international and local.

For the big companies it is important to cooperate with local companies, as Estelle Akofio-Sowah (managing director from Google Ghana), stated in her interview on the Fill the Gap conference. This emphasis the statement that communication is the most important aspect in improving the quality of life of people in developing countries.

Small development aid organizations
NGOs might have fewer resources, but their only goal is, or should be, the improvement of quality of life of the people they help. The fact that this is their only focus they can specialize in the best way to do this. I think the help given by these organizations will be more fitted to the needs of the locals.

It also is important that the development aid organization has no ties to the local government. In several countries the aid is misused by a corrupt government. When donating to a charity organization it is always good to know what you are in for.

To come to a conclusion in the discussion about ‘who does best’ I thus think it depends on with what standards you measure. When you look at the Quality-of-life index, that measure the quality of live with nine factors (health, family life, community life, material well-being, political stability and security, climate and geography, job security, political freedom, gender equality) big companies will have more effect. But is this the correct standard to measure with when it concerns one small village that has no water supply and no electricity?

I think it is not.

The Quality-of-life index is often measured a mean for an entire country. When the life in a small village is very primitive the impact of a small NGO can be so much bigger. It is to these villages the aid of big companies will not reach. The Big companies might improve the average quality of life of the entire nation, they will never have the same effect on a smell village an NGO can have. In my opinion these small villages need the aid the most. So if you ask me, do big companies improve the quality of life in developing countries more than development aid organisations, I’m going to answer negative.