African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1159: Chapter 168: Seizing the Opportunity

Cabinda.

Like Black Horn City in Belgium, Cabinda, the second city on East Africa’s West Coast, is more prosperous than before the war, but this prosperity differs significantly from that of Black Horn City.

Black Horn City is primarily due to Belgians fleeing from their homeland, whereas Cabinda is purely due to trade. The number of merchant ships from East Africa heading to Europe and South America has significantly increased. Gabon remains undeveloped, geographically making Cabinda the first city for East Africa’s trade with Western Europe and South America.

World War I not only caused chaos in Europe, but also saw European powers retracting in other regions, such as South America. Now that the UK is at war with Germany, a power vacuum has formed in South America, and the markets originally dominated by the UK, France, and Germany must naturally yield to East Africa and the US.

In this peaceful competition, East Africa has taken a huge advantage right from the outset, having prepared extensively for this war.

Moreover, the neighboring Belgian colonial market is clearly also a target for East Africa, although there is no rush regarding the Belgian Congo, as East Africa’s arrangements here are earlier and easier.

Carson Department Store.

This is a private department store with a registered history of two years. Considering East Africa’s market opening time isn’t long, among numerous private enterprises, Carson Department Store is relatively large.

With only two years of development, Carson Department Store is evidently unable to compare with the well-funded state-owned department stores of East Africa. Currently, the company’s business scope has just started to occupy a certain market in Cabinda.

This achievement can be considered quite good, as Cabinda is a city with a population of over half a million, while pre-war Belgium’s Brussels had only about sixty to seventy thousand people. It’s no wonder the Belgians in the Congo compared Cabinda to Brussels.

Currently, Philip, the owner of Carson Department Store, is having a meeting with his subordinates, laying the foundation for further expansion of Carson Department Store.

Philip: ”Most factories in Belgium are shut down due to the war, and Europe’s trade and shipping industries are also affected. At this time, Europe is like a pi xiu, only consuming but not producing. The goods originally supposed to be provided by Belgium to the Belgian Congo will also be greatly reduced. For us, the Belgian Congo is now an excellent consumption market, as Belgium can’t take care of it. It’s a prime opportunity for us to expand into the Belgian Congo!”

Philip’s manager asked: ”The consumption capacity in the Belgian Congo is indeed good, but the population is too small, almost similar to Cabinda City. Yet, Cabinda City covers only sixty square kilometers, while the Belgian Congo is over twenty thousand square kilometers. Apart from Black Horn City, there isn’t another noteworthy city, and the population is very scattered. Isn’t it too risky for industries like ours, which need stable consumer population?”

Philip nodded approvingly and said: ”Levin, it’s good that you can see the risks and issues, but your perspective should also be longer-term. The population in the Belgian Congo is growing rapidly, not only due to local high birth rates but also because many Belgians are fleeing there. The potential in the Belgian Congo is very high.”

”As for the population, while the Belgian Congo is vast, there are some places where the population is relatively concentrated, such as towns and mines. These areas can be considered population clusters in the Belgian Congo. We can lay out plans for both the towns and the mines in the Belgian Congo.”

”Ordinary people might not think of business in mining areas, but mining in the Belgian Congo is quite developed at the moment, with many Belgians residing around mines. If we set up a business point providing convenience for workers, there’s almost no chance of failure.”

What Philip referred to as Belgians evidently also included the Chinese in the Belgian Congo. In Belgium, the Chinese population is the majority, and clearly, the Belgian Congo isn’t as open-minded as East Africa, making the distinction between Chinese and Belgian more pronounced.

The Chinese in the Belgian Congo mainly engage in low-end work. After the Black people have been exploited, these tasks naturally couldn’t be performed by the Belgians.

Of course, the Belgian attitude towards the Chinese is evidently more tolerant than in history. Leopold II imported a batch of Chinese laborers from the Far East Empire in the past, resulting in almost none remaining.

But it’s completely different now. The presence of East Africa next to the Belgian Congo guarantees that even if Leopold II dismisses human lives as insignificant, he wouldn’t dare be too harsh on the Chinese there.

Especially after East Africa developed the western region, its economy thrived rapidly. If the Belgians exploited the Chinese too severely, they could completely migrate to East Africa, something the Belgian Congo government couldn’t prevent.

Thus, the status of Chinese in the Belgian Congo has been continuously strengthened over the past few years. If all the people truly left, the Belgian Congo would be finished.

The Belgian Congo is originally a large region with a tropical rainforest climate. Without sufficient population, it couldn’t possibly be more developed than Gabon, governed by France and Germany.

Now, the Chinese in the Belgian Congo have essentially gained social status, though they are still marginalized culturally and ideologically by the real Belgians.

However, the Chinese in the Belgian Congo are already quite satisfied, as compared to the Far East region, the Belgian Congo in this Era can be considered a blessed land, albeit not as prosperous as neighboring East Africa.

Philip continued: ”Moreover, we can compete more strongly in the Belgian Congo, where there are currently not many competitors. This can be seen from the number of people from the Belgian Congo traveling to Cabinda and Kinshasa to shop.”

”If we open the supermarket just across the border, they wouldn’t have to take the trouble to come to Cabinda to shop. Tickets aren’t cheap, and this would surely be attractive to the ordinary people of the Belgian Congo.”

Levin asked: ”Then how do we solve the funding issue?”

Philip: ”This is related to the company’s strategic route. I believe we should abandon the fiercely competitive domestic market for now, and develop in the Belgian Congo. Use the funds initially intended for the domestic market to invest next door. And the land prices in the Belgian Congo are cheaper than in East Africa, offering cost-effectiveness.”

”We’ve also made quite a profit these past two years. If we borrow some money from the bank, it should be enough for our initial development in the Belgian Congo. Moreover, our investments in the Belgian Congo are different from those at home.”

”Except for Black Horn City, we don’t need to establish new large supermarkets in other regions. Just create a network of sales points, similar to the early supply and marketing cooperatives in East Africa, selling only practical products without excess variety. Once our strength grows, we can expand accordingly.”

”In Black Horn City, we only need to build two new large supermarkets. Transporting goods from Cabinda to Black Horn City via sea is convenient. Fresh products can arrive quickly by road or be directly procured locally.”

The Belgian Congo can be divided into Black Horn City and areas outside Black Horn City, as the population of Black Horn City alone accounts for more than one-sixth of the Belgian Congo’s population, with consumption levels exceeding the rest combined.

But such a good place as Black Horn City is surely considered by others too, so Philip doesn’t intend to make significant moves there. Not to mention, state-owned enterprises from East Africa already established supermarkets in Black Horn City years ago.

Carson Department Store entering Black Horn City now may not have a great advantage, but that doesn’t mean it lacks opportunities. The population in Black Horn City is growing rapidly, combined with the trade disruption between Belgium and the Belgian Congo, creating many new markets. Philip believes if opportunities are seized, Carson Department Store can secure a position in Black Horn City.

Having thrived and grown in Cabinda City, Philip clearly has some skill. While the domestic market economy is hot and decisions are less likely to falter, the fact that Carson Department Store has become one of Cabinda City’s industry leaders is not just due to luck.