Yes it does make sense to pay for others' education. I would go so far as to say it is our duty, where "our" is us in the rich countries, to help the world.

- or if you are cheaper think of it like this -

Say someone gets educated in a country and learns a bit about the language and culture and gets some friends. Then this said person returns to country of birth and starts a business with some international connections. It is then plausible that the place of known culture and language and where friends reside is a more likely country to trade and work with.