African Entrepreneurship Record

While Ernst was on his inspection journey, Bela City by the Indian Ocean also welcomed new development opportunities.

Unlike Maputo, Bela City is entirely a new city developed by East Africa, but its development speed had already surpassed all East African cities, including the former capital Maputo of Mozambique by 1892. The main reason for this situation was East Africa’s policy inclination towards Bela City.

In the past, Africa’s industrial concentration was in the northeastern part of South Africa, within the original Transvaal Republic territory, including Johannesburg (South Africa’s largest city, undeveloped by East Africa) and Pretoria (present-day Otto City in East Africa), which are important industrial and mining cities in South Africa.

Centered around Johannesburg, within a 240-kilometer range, there are over 60 gold mines, situated in the world’s largest mining area and the central zone of South Africa’s economy. Johannesburg and the surrounding industrial and mining cities together account for about half of South Africa’s total industrial output value.

In contrast, East Africa’s industrial concentration is arranged within the former Zimbabwe territory, not in the South African region, which has led to Bela City’s port region conditions being prioritized. Supporting facilities like railways, ports, highways, population, funds, technology, and industries are all quickly concentrated in this area.

August 17, 1893.

Bela City government welcomed a group of important guests from Germany at the dock—an inspection team from one of the German chemical industry giants, BASF.

BASF’s headquarters is located opposite Mannheim in the Grand Duchy of Baden in Ludwigshafen, which rose in the 19th century due to chemical industry development. Ludwigshafen formed a joint port with Mannheim on the opposite bank. BASF was founded in 1865, originally named Baden Aniline and Soda Factory.

Many German chemical plants were established in the 1960s and 70s, initially focusing on the textile industry. The mainstream products in the dye industry at the time were still natural dyes, but their primary plant sources meant complex components and unstable product concentrations and hues.

Therefore, it was difficult to achieve standardized production for modern industry, failing to meet the growing demand of the textile industry. BASF proceeded to enter the synthetic dye field, using coal tar, a byproduct of gas, to produce synthetic dyes.

In 1869, BASF successfully synthesized its first natural dye—alizarin, marking the company’s first global success. Subsequently, new dyes like eosin, primo red, and woad were also introduced one after another.

Starting in the 70s, BASF entered an expansion period, acquiring two essential dye sales companies in Germany. Furthermore, BASF began establishing production installations and sales offices abroad, including in the United States, France, and Tsarist Russia.

In the 80s, the application of new technologies enabled BASF to become the world’s largest sulfuric acid producer at the time.

At its founding, BASF had only thirty or so employees, but now it is a large German chemical enterprise with thousands of employees. Don’t be fooled by the small number of employees; actually, salaries in the chemical industry are far higher than in other sectors. Even the average salary of newly graduated employees entering the company is 25 times higher than in other industries.

This showcases the lucrative nature of the chemical industry at the time. Naturally, BASF, which made its mark with dyes, was at the forefront of the era. As the textile industry boomed, research advanced people’s demand for textiles, and ”textile” as part of essential living items, is an absolute necessity.

Therefore, Ernst, or East Africa, clearly appreciates the significance of the chemical industry. This inspection in Bela City is one of the crucial aspects of cooperation between East Africa and Germany.

Of course, whether BASF, among other German chemical companies, invests and builds factories eventually depends on the efforts of different East African cities. Prior to coming to Bela, BASF had already conducted inspections in cities like Mombasa and Tanga. While visiting Bela City, BASF inspection teams were also visiting New Hamburg Port City and Luanda on the West Coast.

Thus, whether this investment promotion will be successful is uncertain for Bela City government. Compared to Bela City, Mombasa, Tanga, and New Hamburg Port clearly have superior basic conditions, and only Luanda on the West Coast currently shares the same level as Bela City.

”Gentlemen, welcome to inspect Bela City. I am the mayor of Bela City, named Curry Borland. We have prepared dining and accommodation conditions in advance, ensuring your stay in Bela City will be as comfortable as home,” said Mayor Borland enthusiastically.

Despite a typhoon two years ago, Bela City’s growth rate was entirely unaffected; instead, it rose to new heights in 1892. With increasing population and labor, the city swiftly expanded, the port is almost formed, and the railway will soon be completed. Now, Bela City can be said to be fully prepared, only missing the industrial ’East Wind.’

Borland may not be very knowledgeable about the chemical industry, but given its high importance to the East African Central Government, it undoubtedly holds great potential. So even if it’s embarrassing, Borland will find a way to keep the BASF branch factory in Bela City.

The BASF inspection team members did not shy away from the local officials’ enthusiasm as they had received similar hospitality in other East African cities before.

A rather young member of the inspection team said, ”Hello, Mayor Borland, there’s no need to be so welcoming. Our main purpose this time is for inspection tasks. As a company, BASF is still more inclined to locations that meet our criteria for setting up branches.”

Borland looked at the young man in front of him and asked, ”May I know your name? Are you the leader of this inspection team?”

The reason Borland paid particular attention to this young man was not just due to his standing position, but also because his appearance seemed peculiar to Borland. Upon closer thought, those features were typical of East African mixed-race.

His bone structure was German, yet he had thick black hair, and his facial and skin features incorporated the characteristics of Dehua.

”Certainly, my name is Charlieran, and I am the leader of this inspection team. However, my position as the team leader doesn’t reflect high capability; it’s because I am originally East African, so the company considered sending me here to inspect the situation. Hence, the subsequent evaluations will be more stringent.”

Charlieran openly explained the reason for being the inspection team leader, while stating in the final sentence that he wouldn’t relax inspection standards due to his East African identity, instead, he would be more rigorous.

Now, Borland was instead highly interested in Charlieran’s background while also wanting to establish a good relationship with this BASF representative, so they began chatting.

Through some side probing, Borland gradually understood Charlieran’s background. The reason an East African like Charlieran could become a BASF employee primarily benefited from the East African education system.

East Africa annually sends a large number of students abroad for study, primarily to Europe. However, the freedom of these students isn’t strictly controlled by the East African government; their main constraints are ”tuition” and family.

Tuition is easily understood; all East African students studying abroad are fully funded. Despite the East African government’s direct interventions allowing concessions, tuition for a 19th-century university is still very expensive. Family is naturally a constraint, although this isn’t a governmental method. Most students come from families, except for orphans, with parents definitely residing in East Africa.

Some students choose to return after completing their studies to pay back their loans, leading to immediate loan cancellations. Those who don’t opt to return can work in Europe and repay their ”loan,” resulting in most opting to return for development, and a few with connections manage to stay in the more prosperous Germany.

Charlieran was one with connections; his father was a German immigrant, his mother was Chinese, but his grandfather and other family members still resided in Germany. Thus, following his father’s wishes, he ”claimed his ancestry” after returning to Germany, coupled with his outstanding chemistry academic performance, leading BASF to take notice and offer a high annual salary. This resulted in him repaying his loans within a year after graduating and staying in Germany.