Level up: The trade myths holding back African countries

One of the many things I love about being a part of the Stears Business newsroom is how past articles inspire future ones. This is important for keeping essential conversations going.

For example, a few weeks ago, we wrote about how Nigeria does not necessarily need its people for economic growth and prosperity. The idea behind taking this stance wasn't to be intentionally provocative. It was to reveal a perhaps not so well kept secret: exports could actually be the engine of economic growth. We showed how a country could benefit from the demand for its goods by selling to people in wealthier countries. So local businesses go from serving the domestic market to accessing a larger and wealthier population.

You only need to look at China to see how this can be possible. Since its re-entry into the global economy, China has used exports and foreign firms to reduce