African Entrepreneurship Record

As for why BASF doesn’t directly choose Bulawayo or Nairobi to open branches, the reason is simple: East Africa only opens coastal areas, the inland is inaccessible.

Moreover, the industrial configuration of inland areas is mainly dominated by East African state-owned enterprises. Each industrial sector in the inland is complete, though relatively weak. To prevent them from being directly impacted by foreign capital, the effective barriers remain a viable measure. Additionally, they can form competition with foreign enterprises in coastal areas, thus avoiding stagnation due to environmental constraints.

Given the moat, competition can maintain vitality. As long as operations are handled properly, the foundation of East African industry can remain unbeaten.

This approach by East Africa was not prominent in the 19th century, as even the US and Germany would use tariff barriers to protect their domestic industries from external shocks, especially the German Junker aristocracy, which notably opposed improving German relations with Tsarist Russia for economic interests, resulting in Tsarist Russia siding with the Allies during World War I.

Of course, East Africa has similar policies, but it can bypass commodity grain agriculture to develop tropical cash crop agriculture, avoiding direct competition. In this field, currently, only Brazil and Caribbean coastal countries have some ability to compete with East Africa.

While India is a tropical country, its large population must ensure basic food security, making it impossible to fully compete with East Africa. Additionally, India’s land area is only three million square kilometers, which is far less compared to Brazil. As a British colony without autonomy, India’s productivity level is low. The UK prioritizes India’s cheap labor costs across various fields rather than improving its agricultural technology. The same goes for Brazil, where its market is mainly held by foreign capital and currently has limited influence.

In the past, Southeast Asia was the most prosperous in tropical cash crops, but it has just started now and cannot yet form a strong competitiveness.

...

New Frankfurt City.

New Frankfurt City, previously Zambia’s Kapirimposhi in the past, has developed rapidly since it was upgraded to a city, further enhancing its position as East Africa’s largest railway hub.

After inspecting the industrial development in Mbeya City, Ernst headed directly to New Frankfurt City.

The current temperature in New Frankfurt City is only around 24 degrees. As soon as he stepped out of the carriage, Ernst felt very comfortable.

Since entering the East African Plateau, Ernst has felt that the inland area is more habitable compared to First Town City. If not for the excessive train allocation, this trip would be perfect.

”Since New Frankfurt City was upgraded, its population has increased to over eighty thousand people. The Central Railway, especially the north-south line, gathers East Africa’s largest industrial cities in New Frankfurt City, which has developed very rapidly, especially its equipment manufacturing, transportation, and food processing industries, which are the three pillar industries here.”

After listening, Ernst affirmed New Frankfurt City’s work over the years. Originally, Kapirimposhi was just a small town, and its development to today’s scale is truly impressive.

Previously, Kapirimposhi was also a railway hub in Zambia, but not notable among Zambian cities. This is closely related to Zambia’s transportation construction.

In the past, Kapirimposhi was just the end point of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway. In contrast, East Africa’s Central Railway spans east-west across oceans and reaches north-south from the edges of the Azande Plateau to the southeastern coastal New Hamburg Port City.

The driving effect is unparalleled. Moreover, the north is lined with copper mining cities, while the south hosts Lusaka and Kabwe. Further south is Matabele Province directly.

Situated between these cities, New Frankfurt City can’t even develop slowly if it wants to. Once Angola is developed in the future, New Frankfurt City’s regional conditions will be further highlighted.

Subsequently, under the guidance of New Frankfurt City’s government, Ernst visited the urban construction situation. The city area of New Frankfurt City develops along both sides of the railway. As the train entered New Frankfurt City, Ernst gained some understanding of the local infrastructure, though these are just surface phenomena.

Ernst first inspected the local factory construction. Benefiting from the railway hub, New Frankfurt City isn’t resource-based, but it doesn’t lack various raw materials. Manufacturing is quite developed here. Copper from the north undergoes initial processing and turns into copper ingots and other semi-manufactured goods, which are further processed in New Frankfurt City, and likewise for iron ore and other resources.

”The next step is to strive for the development of the electrical industry in New Frankfurt City. Previously, the most developed electrical industry is in Mbeya City, Swabia Province, and Hohenzollern Province. Resources from these provinces are exported to Mbeya City to produce electrical products. We are optimistic about New Frankfurt City’s prospects in the electrical industry and want to become one of the important cities for the regional electrical industry.”

Mbeya City is mentioned solely due to its high electric technology level in East Africa. Only Dar es Salaam and Mombasa compare, with most other cities like southern Lusaka, Harare, and northern Lubumbashi in the second tier.

Regarding New Frankfurt City’s ambitions, Ernst naturally supports them: ”The electrical industry is a strategic industry for East Africa. You can develop not only electricity but the automotive industry as well. Additionally, you can collaborate with surrounding cities in a division of labor where different components are made in advantageous areas. New Frankfurt City, as a transportation hub, can concentrate these components for assembly and processing, then distribute them nationwide via the railway.”

”Certainly, whether it is the automotive or electrical industry, focusing on research and development is key. You can’t solely rely on emulation. For example, the car’s shape, interior, and configuration all require attention, continually improving comfort and usability.”

”At the same time, focus on production safety. Given the current campaign to widely promote electricity in East Africa, improper use of electricity can be very dangerous, so you must educate on safe electricity usage to prevent accidents.”

With the proliferation of the electrical industry, the industrial and residential electricity consumption in East Africa greatly increased, making the dissemination of electrical safety knowledge crucial, especially when high-voltage transmission systems are in use.

However, this is an incredibly lengthy process. Even in the 21st century, many people still overlook this issue. In the 19th century, spreading electrical safety knowledge is even harder.

East Africa is relatively fortunate in this aspect, with a high rate of compulsory education and a well-educated populace, giving it some advantages in this work. The acceptance level of German citizens isn’t low either, whereas other countries find the challenge even greater.

Despite the increasing number of electrical facilities, they have yet to reach nationwide standards, and many cities don’t even have electricity. Nonetheless, this doesn’t hinder East Africa from educating nationwide about electricity use safety.

Based on East Africa’s current electrical development, it may well be thirty years before even remote villages are connected to the grid. Now, central and eastern cities are using electricity on a large scale, and some rural areas in the east are starting to install electric lights and other electrical products.