African Entrepreneurship Record

The population of a city is an important indicator of its development, but it doesn’t necessarily correlate with whether the city is advanced. Take, for example, the present-day cities in India and the Far East Empire, whose development primarily relies on the vast inland market.

After all, basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, and transportation cannot be changed. The difference between a market of hundreds of millions and a market of tens of millions is significant, and it certainly cannot be matched by a market of millions or even fewer, which is why the European and American powers covet India and the Far East Empire so much.

As Tirpitz and Aaron spoke, a car drove past on the street. East Africa, being a major automobile production power, made Tirpitz unsurprised to see cars in Mbea City, as he had already seen many in places like Dar es Salaam.

”That car just now looks like something I haven’t seen on the market; it looks quite impressive!” Tirpitz said.

”That’s an East African official car, usually only used by government personnel, so it’s not for sale on the market, but it can be purchased, though unaffordable for most people,” Aaron said.

”What brand is it? I’d like to bring one to Germany if possible.”

”Otto, second only to the Crown. The Crown is usually reserved for truly important people.”

This Otto is actually named after the previous generation’s Prince Heixinggen, Ernst’s grandfather. The capital of the Heixinggen province is Otto City (formerly Pretoria). Of course, in the Far East Empire, it was translated as Otto, which Ernst remembers from his past life in the Far East Empire, and the name ”拓,” meaning advancement and development, fits the aesthetic of the Eastern Power. Elsewhere, the name Otto conforms to European tradition, just like Ferrari and Benz were named after their founders.

It’s worth mentioning that Benz currently manages the car production operation of the Heixinggen consortium in Germany, and hence the brand ”Mercedes” naturally came to be.

Regarding the Crown brand, as Aaron mentioned, Tirpitz had also heard about it. Previously, East Africa had given cars of this brand to some European royal families, including William II, who also had one. However, William II preferred domestic cars, so his Crown car was kept in the garage, but this did not prevent the Heixinggen consortium from holding stakes in many German car companies.

If possible, Tirpitz himself would like to have a Crown, but the car is too expensive, and its production is quite low.

”I think if that Otto car just now were exported to the market, it might sell well, as its design is quite striking.”

As an official vehicle, the Otto’s design is on the conservative side, which is appealing to political figures.

Aaron said, ”Actually, it’s just good-looking. In reality, the interior experience isn’t much better than other vehicles on the market. However, if there’s an export version in the future, there may be some internal improvements.”

As a luxury item, European and American cars have quite luxurious decorations, while in East Africa, the evaluation of cars varies greatly. Even now, East Africa’s car production isn’t much, but the positioning of East African cars is divided into ordinary consumer goods and luxury items.

This reflects the ambitions of the East African government, which is to promote automobiles to the civilian populace of East Africa. This plan looked crazy in the 19th century, but for Ernst, it makes perfect sense, as, in his previous life, automobiles were just ordinary means of transportation.

Of course, while East Africa is vigorously developing automobiles, it hasn’t abandoned research on electric vehicles. In the past life, electric vehicle research wasn’t much later than automobiles; it was just that when global automobile numbers were low and oil was abundant, following the crisis from the rapid increase in industry and automobiles in the 21st century, people had to revisit electric vehicles. However, this wasted nearly a hundred years of development, seriously hindering the progress of electric vehicles.

Therefore, the fact that East Africa retains electric vehicle research while the rest of the world shifts entirely to oil-powered vehicles is advantageous for East Africa’s future development.

Furthermore, the application scenarios for electric vehicles are quite broad. In Ernst’s view, electric cars, bullet trains, and new energy vehicles from the past life all belong to the electric vehicle category, including the trams currently in use.

Ernst can be said to have meticulously charted the next direction of technological development for East Africa. As long as they avoid talent and technology outflow due to scenarios like Germany’s defeat in war, the seeds planted by Ernst will bear fruits substantial enough to sustain East Africa for a century.

Of course, speaking of the present, the East African government’s automobile popularization plan still has a long way to go. Taking the current automobile production and sales model in East Africa, it is vastly different from abroad.

However, these differences won’t hinder the development of East Africa’s automobile industry. The Soviet Union practiced a more thorough planned economy than East Africa in the past and still achieved an automobile ownership rate similar to European and American countries, so East Africa could naturally achieve the same.

What the Soviet automobile industry lacked was a quick market response. After all, Soviet car factories produced whatever vehicles they wanted people to have, not what the people needed, whereas the Soviets could only enjoy what’s provided.

This is something East Africa can avoid, as East African automobile production consists of two major components: the Heixinggen consortium and state-owned enterprises. The Heixinggen consortium, as a wholly private enterprise, caters to international standards and participates in numerous foreign automobile manufacturing partnerships, allowing it to feedback data to East Africa’s state-owned enterprises.

As a naval person, Tirpitz ultimately did not pay too much attention to East African automobiles. East Africa has always been a major automobile manufacturing nation, with the world’s first car produced there, and numerous East African automobile brands available on the international market. Still, this does not fully reflect the production situation of the domestic automobile industry in East Africa.

And, of course, the East African government could not possibly expose the secrets of its automotive industry to an outsider like Tirpitz. Automobiles in East Africa are not just transportation means but are also closely related to military, transportation, and industrial development.

Especially with the East African military extensively equipped with automobiles, this is quite advanced compared to militaries worldwide.

In Mbea City, though only having wandered around the area near the station, Tirpitz and other Germans were amazed. The city shattered the image of East Africa’s inland as a ”desolate,” ”dangerous,” ”uninhabited” place.

After all, East Africa is a closed country, with scarcely any foreigners having ventured into its depths, so the existence of Mbea City broke the illusory fantasies of Tirpitz and others.

The climate is pleasant here, with spectacular scenery, contrary to the rumors of a ”malaria-ridden,” ”civilization desert” place. Of course, this is limited to East Africa alone; in other parts of Africa, these depictions would still apply.

Speaking of which, Germans could easily find out what their colony in Cameroon is like, aligning with the negative narratives about Africa.

Indeed, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Belgian Congo are areas with harsher conditions in Africa, mostly tropical rainforest regions. Even East Africa couldn’t significantly modify these zones, let alone these sparsely populated colonies.

West Africa’s prime area remains the tropical savanna region north of the Gulf of Guinea. However, from a climate perspective, it still pales compared to East Africa, given West Africa’s fewer plateaus and lower altitudes, rendering it hotter. Nevertheless, West Africa is indeed rich in mineral resources, especially petroleum, iron ore, and bauxite.