African Entrepreneurship Record

Mbeya City, No. 2 High School.

”Luo De, where are you going after graduation?” Hagens asked.

In the blink of an eye, it’s graduation season. Students graduating from East African high schools will have to face employment issues. Of course, those with top grades can stay on campus, but that’s just a small number. Most still have to decide on their future direction.

”Who knows! But based on my grades and my family’s arrangements, I’m likely going to take over my father’s blacksmith shop, or go to a factory. As for farming, I don’t know how!”

”Ha, that’s the advantage of having a skill. For someone like me, I’m likely going back to my village farm to work.”

”Hehe, I’m only half-skilled. My father hasn’t systematically taught me the blacksmith craft. After all, the blacksmith shop is dirty and tiring, and I basically don’t participate in work matters when I get home daily. So even if I inherit the family business, I’ll have to start from scratch. It also depends on grades; the better the grades, the more paths are open. The top ones can study abroad; the next can go to college in the country, and those in the top few of the school can be assigned good jobs.”

”So you’re saying I’m a poor student!” Luo De said gloomily.

”You’re overthinking it. My grades aren’t much better than yours; we’re brothers, right? And working in a blacksmith shop may not be much better than a farm. Swinging a hammer is heavy work, and we don’t get a day off; the whole village relies on our family for metal repair.”

”I wonder where Kelder will go? I heard his father plans to get him a position in a government agency!”

”Probably not an important position, likely a small police officer under his father’s command. After all, officials now require educational qualifications, and if he takes the civil service exam, Kelder surely wouldn’t pass.”

”The civil service exam is too hard and fiercely competitive. If my grades were good, I’d want to apply too, but with no background and poor grades, it’s better to save the registration fee.”

In East Africa’s societal environment, government jobs are definitely desirable, especially for mid-to-lower level positions.

After all, having an official position means having a good life in any country, so it depends on the treatment of grassroots staff.

”Joining the military isn’t bad either, but the navy has high requirements. Last year, only two people were recruited from our school. I heard the navy’s food is even better than the army’s!”

”The army’s food is already top-notch, and the navy’s is just icing on the cake. You can experience more things, but it depends on the assignment. If it’s to remote places like the Southern Ryukyu Islands or the Comoros Islands, it would be awful!”

”Haha, the army has it worse. If they assign you to Southwest Africa or the Congo rainforest, that’s true suffering, facing many threats.”

”But it’s better than being average. Joining the army means decent treatment afterwards, enjoying certain privileges after discharge, with some social status. That alone is enough. Besides, military conditions have improved, allowing exposure to new things, which broadens horizons.”

In recent years, factory construction in East Africa has been frequent, so more graduates can enter factory work. This represents a direction of industrialization in East Africa, with people moving towards industry.

Besides students, the East African government is also relocating some East workforces to the West, which is one of East Africa’s basic policies.

Population distribution in East Africa is uneven, especially in the West, so migration is crucial, mostly through job transfers.

Mbeya City, First Iron and Steel Plant

”This year, our plant will send fifteen people to Harare to support the development of Western industry. I still advise you to consider it. The environment in Harare isn’t worse than Mbeya City, and in the future, many of East Africa’s heavy industries will be located in Harare because of richer resources in the West, making its prospects better than Mbeya City.” The plant manager persuaded.

However, the responses were scant, which is normal. Those who can work at Mbeya City’s First Iron and Steel Plant generally have families there and naturally don’t want to relocate to another city.

”The distance from Mbeya City to Harare isn’t far, only a few days, and it’s by rail. Everything is ready there, just waiting for workers to move in. Moreover, future steel production in Mbeya City will likely decrease, while Harare’s will increase, offering more stability. Even if unemployed, employment opportunities in Matebel Province are much greater than in South Salzburg Province since Matebel is East Africa’s first industrial province.”

Being a worker in East African steel plants isn’t permanent; there’s a last in, first out system, regularly screening out a batch of workers, hence the plant manager’s words.

”Manager, you’re just messing around. Isn’t the steel plant in Mbeya City good enough? Why keep thinking of sending people westward?”

”Snort, what’s messing around? This is the country’s grand strategy. Don’t feel wronged. It’s not just our First Steel Plant; government agencies, schools, other factories, and even villages must send people to the western inland.”

”The purpose of this is clear: the West has too few people, with so much land and resources unused. Developing the West naturally requires support from the East. In recent years, conditions in the West have improved, especially in Hohenzollern Province, Swabia Province, and Matebel Province, where basic conditions aren’t worse than the East, and Matebel Province even shows signs of surpassing the Central Province.”

The emphasis on Matebel Province in East Africa is apparent, fitting its geographical position. Going west from Mbeya, you reach the central three provinces, one of East Africa’s most resource-rich areas, seamlessly connecting the East’s industrial and population overflow.

The eastern sectors and population overflow is a government-mandated action because, at East Africa’s population level, the East hasn’t exceeded its actual carrying capacity.

After all, the land area in the East exceeds two million square kilometers, with a population of just over twenty million, which is only a third of East Africa. Its population density compared to European countries is negligible.

”The country’s considerations are naturally for better development, so supporting the West is inevitable. And the West isn’t a dragon’s lair; the Westward Movement began years ago, but the slogan hasn’t been used recently.”

The Westward Movement was a product of East Africa ten years ago when the western provinces were truly a wasteland. The fruits of the Westward Movement are now visible, including large infrastructure projects like the Central Railway, improving the western living environment, leading to East Africa’s industrial shift.

But over time, the Westward Movement’s momentum faded, though policies steadily progress, also related to declining immigrant population.

”Going west now is simple, but it might be harder in the future; opportunities are for the prepared, and the West surely has more opportunities than the East. So think carefully for your future. Anyone interested in signing up can register with me tomorrow. If we don’t have enough people in three days, I’ll have to assign positions according to the old rules!”

As a plant manager, there is considerable authority, but if the staff initiates, it’s dignified for everyone.