African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 312: 299 Chapter Austria Business Delegation

Emptying Venice is certainly not feasible; the action is too drastic, Ernst would not agree, nor would Austria-Hungary. What East Africa is doing is simply moving the jobs of Venetian workers who migrated to East Africa to East Africa as well.

In reality, a significant portion of Venetians who reached East Africa have participated in the great endeavor of pioneering, so the industrial needs of Nairobi are not large, but they do require professionalism.

At the same time, Ernst’s initial goal was to make Venice Austrian territory, to avoid it becoming a potential landlocked country in the future, rather than to force the remaining Venetians to oppose Austria for autonomy and independence.

Germany turning into an inland region is not a concern for East Africa, as most of Germany’s seaports are concentrated in the Baltic Sea. The British and French curbing Germany’s access to East Africa serves two purposes: trapping the German navy in the Baltic Sea and cutting off the Strait of Gibraltar, forcing it to detour along Africa’s West Coast, which is a long distance indeed.

Meanwhile, Austria-Hungary’s main link to East Africa relies on the Suez Canal, and although there is a risk of it being cut off, Austria-Hungary and East Africa both have the ability to counteract. Moreover, the Suez Canal concerns the interests of the majority of countries and regions along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, so maintaining the Suez Canal’s smoothness and safety is not East Africa’s responsibility alone.

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Mombasa.

Mombasa is particularly lively today, with a welcome ceremony organized by the city hall at the dock, attended by various government officials, including the East African Minister of Finance, Von der Leyen.

A ship flying the flag of Austria-Hungary was docked, and the Austrian commercial delegation disembarked from it.

Approaching them, Von der Leyen said, ”Welcome everyone to East Africa! I am the East African Minister of Finance, Von der Leyen.”

”Minister Von der Leyen, hello! I am Wolfgang, the head of the Austrian commercial delegation.”

As Wolfgang spoke, he glanced around Mombasa’s environment, giving the initial impression of uniformity, or rather a lack of distinctive character, as there was no litter or sewage on the streets. The city appeared relatively empty, mainly because the roads were wide and the buildings were not densely packed.

Seeing Wolfgang looking around, Von der Leyen said, ”Mr. Wolfgang, what is your first impression of Mombasa? If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Wolfgang replied, ”Mombasa is quite impressive. Before coming here, I imagined countless scenarios of East Africa, but just Mombasa alone has exceeded my expectations.”

Von der Leyen explained, ”Mombasa is almost a rebuilt city; we are committed to bringing German culture to Africa. Therefore, you should feel at home in East Africa, like you have returned to your own country.”

This sentiment is unanimously agreed upon by the Austrian commercial delegation, as they are all Germans and naturally find this comforting.

Wolfgang inquired, ”Minister Von der Leyen, although Mombasa looks good, why are your roads so wide, and why is there such a large distance between buildings, making it appear so spacious? Doesn’t this lead to great waste?”

Having visited many places in Europe, Wolfgang noticed that most cities in many European countries have relatively narrow streets with heavy foot traffic. Buildings are constructed with an emphasis on utilization. To him, the construction in Mombasa seemed overly extravagant.

Von der Leyen responded, ”Firstly, East Africa has vast and sparsely populated land, so land resources are not very scarce. Secondly, East African cities pay more attention to the living environment. Although the buildings are spread out, there is a rich array of vegetation, which we call a garden city. This also makes it easier to integrate the city’s supporting facilities, such as drainage systems, reserved water pipelines, streetlights, and warning signs. Mombasa’s current economic capacity is limited, so the related facilities are not perfect yet. However, we have referred to the advantages of other cities and reserved enough space for Mombasa’s future development. As for the wide roads, pedestrian and cargo traffic flows smoothly according to the right-hand traffic rules, so traffic efficiency is good. Although it is currently excessive, as Mombasa’s population grows in the future, there will be no need for replanning.”

Wolfgang believed part of Von der Leyen’s explanation, at least acknowledging that the East African government had a long-term vision, but he did not fully accept it. The remainder seemed to him like administrative extravagance not lived up to by European cities at the time, lacking practicality.

Wolfgang remarked, ”Though you make some valid points, East Africa’s population is not large. How many years are you planning to achieve the transformation of this city to what you described—thirty years, forty years, or even longer?”

Von der Leyen said, ”Currently, the population of Mombasa has already reached around sixty thousand, second only to Dar es Salaam. It’s important to note that German settlers established this city just over three years ago, even after expelling the local Zanzibaris. This signifies that we have aligned the population of cities like Mombasa with Europe solely through migration, indicating a promising future for Mombasa’s development.”

Sixty thousand is not a large population for the city, but considering it’s 1870 and Berlin only has about 700,000-800,000 residents, while Vienna has about 500,000-600,000.

Of course, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa are special cases, being East Africa’s two largest transit ports, supporting enough jobs to sustain such a population density. Just providing services for passing ships and sailors creates numerous jobs. Once Nairobi expands, it will form a ”large” city with a population exceeding 50,000 or even 100,000.

The third-largest city in East Africa is currently Mbeya, with Mwanza following as the fourth; however, with Nairobi’s sudden rise, they will fall to fourth and fifth positions, showcasing the power of policy.

Although East African cities appear to reach European standards, most of their current populations are at the township level—a capital for each province—and with just Mombasa exceeding 50,000 in population.

After hearing Von der Leyen’s words, Wolfgang also became interested in East Africa. He asked, ”Given this perspective, Mombasa’s development is indeed commendable, transforming from a colonial city to a modern city with a German style is quite an achievement. I want to know the current population size of East African cities?”

Population, especially urban population size, implies labor force and market presence; if East Africa fulfills these criteria, combined with its resources, it only needs entrepreneurial investments.

The Austrian commercial delegation, although commissioned by the royal family, primarily came to seek fortune; they traveled to East Africa for assessment mainly due to the face of His Majesty the Emperor.

Von der Leyen did not directly answer Wolfgang’s question but instead said, ”Currently, most of East Africa’s population is still concentrated in agriculture and rural areas; urban populations are not prominent. However, we are planning a northern industrial belt with Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kisumu as its nodes. These three cities alone have populations reaching about 100,000. In Nairobi, due to the outcome of the Venetian region war, many experienced workers will migrate to East Africa, bringing Nairobi’s urban population to over 100,000. In addition, along this industrial belt, there are numerous scattered villages, with a total regional population of about 600,000.”

Von der Leyen did not reveal the exact strength of East Africa, merely reciting Kenya’s population size to the delegation.

Without Von der Leyen’s elaborate description, just hearing the number 600,000 made many enthused. By comparison, contemporary Greece only has 1.45 million people. Kenya’s southern region not only has a relatively ample population but also abundant resources.

Von der Leyen continued, ”Moreover, we are planning large cotton plantations in the north, not ordinary cotton but long-staple cotton. Though perhaps slightly inferior to Egyptian quality, the difference isn’t significant. Also, there are large-scale farms in the north. Southern Kenya’s agricultural foundation is quite good, with crops like sorghum, wheat, corn, and millet being grown, including the coffee plantations in South Prussia Province where Nairobi is located.”

This is the agricultural foundation for the northern industrial belt, which provides abundant raw materials. Austrian businessmen can leverage these products and invest in promising related industries.

Wolfgang said, ”In this respect, East Africa indeed has its advantages due to its rich land resources and tropical location. However, I would like to understand the local healthcare conditions.”

Wolfgang expressed his genuine concern. All have heard about Africa’s harsh environment and numerous diseases, which makes it not just a matter of investment but one of life and death.

Von der Leyen assured him, ”This aspect, Mr. Wolfgang, you do not need to worry about. Our investment in healthcare in East Africa is substantial. Through sanitation and environmental modifications, population attrition has been reduced to minimal levels, very close to European standards. Look at me, I came to East Africa four years ago. Many of our government officials and military officers have been in East Africa for at least three years.”

Even if Von der Leyen hadn’t mentioned it, East Africa’s living conditions have been better than most regions at the same latitude, largely due to its location on the tropical highland, making it very livable. Additionally, the relentless promotion and enforcement of sanitation, alongside the large-scale extermination of mosquitoes, have further improved conditions. Despite low technological levels, Europe at that time couldn’t necessarily address diseases effectively. To Ernst’s knowledge, a massive cholera epidemic occurred during the Vienna World’s Fair in 1872, which resulted in a significant number of deaths, even in Vienna.

Moreover, the dispersed population distribution in East Africa, coupled with an efficient monitoring system, prevents large-scale disease outbreaks. The existence of officials within the East African administration focused on hygiene, healthcare, and disease prevention contributes significantly. The subsequent rollout of a telegraph system throughout East Africa will further enhance the region’s capability to thwart the spread of diseases on a large scale.