African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1215: Chapter 224: Home Appliances and Kitchenware

However, the growth rate in East Africa is also considered very fast. After entering the 20th century, the pace of urbanization in East Africa has surpassed other great powers every year, except for Japan. The industrial development of other great powers has taken nearly a century of accumulation.

Take Germany for example. Germany began its industrialization around the mid-19th century, but this does not mean Germany had no industrial base before that. Germany was one of the later countries to industrialize among the great powers. East Africa’s industrial movement formally began only with the First Five-Year Plan.

Of course, this so-called ”industrialization” certainly does not refer to small-scale efforts but rather a large-scale industrialization process at the societal level. After all, buying two pieces of equipment, hiring a few workers, and registering a factory clearly belong to the realm of industrial development. If the standards were lowered, East Africa’s industrialization could even be traced back to the sisal plantations of the colonial period.

...

First Town.

The Sweet Palace has now become the central exhibition hall of the World Expo. Most areas within the Sweet Palace have been opened to accommodate the exhibits of enterprises from various countries.

Kars, the Second Prince of East Africa, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech announcing the official opening of this East Africa World Expo. Kars did not make a long speech, so as not to interrupt everyone’s enjoyment.

A simpler program is not a problem, as the theme and highlights of the World Expo are new things and products from various countries.

Besides East Africa as the host, other participants almost all came from industrially lagging countries and regions, or some colonies.

At this time, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition was also being held in the United States. The East Africa World Expo naturally had to avoid overlapping content to highlight the country’s industrial features and align with the development of East African national strategy.

”The Kitchen of the Future!”

The Paraguayan merchant, Morgan, came to a booth, looking at this area designed entirely in a kitchen format with a face full of curiosity.

”Hello, sir! I am an employee of the East African Jia Chef Company. How may I assist you?” a salesman politely asked.

”What is this thing?” Morgan pointed to an item that might be a pot in front of him.

”This is an electric rice cooker produced by our company. Its main use is for steaming rice, cooking porridge, or making soup. Of course, it can also be used for heating other foods.”

”Of course, in most East African households, it is generally used as a tool for steaming cooked rice. Once powered on, just add the right amount of water and rice, press the button on top, and it will automatically trip off after a set time. If it’s other foods, then it’s relatively troublesome, like cooking porridge or making soup, you have to watch the time and steam like traditional cookware to prevent overflowing...”

This salesman was very experienced. As one of the most common household appliances in East Africa, the rice cooker had not sold well in countries that primarily consumed grains other than rice for a long time.

After all, during this time, the competitive pressure of rice as a staple grain in the world was still very large. For example, many European countries now consider potatoes as the most important food crop, and high-yield crops like corn are also expanding greatly, while others like cassava and sweet potatoes also occupy important positions.

Undoubtedly, wheat and rice are better in terms of taste, but in this era, productivity levels are far below that of the 21st century, and more people choose food crops primarily to satiate hunger.

Thus, the early sales of East African rice cookers were mostly in the Far East, South Asia, and the Middle East, with a relatively limited scope.

Later, East African companies had a brainwave, and while rice cookers are best for cooking rice, that doesn’t mean they can’t cook other foods! As a result, after broadening the uses, rice cooker sales saw a noticeable increase.

And Morgan, this Paraguayan merchant, became very interested in rice cookers. Rice cultivation in Paraguay also reached a certain scale, especially in recent years under East African influence, and the rice planting area in Paraguay had increased significantly. Of course, if rice cookers were only for cooking rice.

Then Morgan would not be tempted, as despite the expansion of rice areas over the years, the Paraguayan diet is still primarily based on wheat and holds an absolute advantage.

But if a rice cooker can steam and boil, and can also be used to make other foods, it means its sales market is no longer limited to those who like rice. It would be great for making soups or boiling pasta.

After the wars of the 1960s and 1970s, Paraguay’s population structure underwent significant changes, with a considerable number of Italian immigrant descendants. Therefore, many Italian dietary habits inevitably influence Paraguay.

”What’s the selling price?” asked Morgan.

”Only thirty Rhine Shields,” the salesman answered.

”Can it be cheaper?”

”Naturally, there are cheaper alternatives, but if you look at the one next to it, it’s only twenty-three Rhine Shields, though there is a significant difference in materials.”

Morgan calculated in his mind. This price was not low, but as a ”household appliance,” it was different.

From Morgan’s perspective, the rice cooker is undoubtedly a ”high-end product.” After all, the mainstream kitchenware in the world still relies on open flames like wood-burning and coal-burning, which is also a selling point.

However, despite Morgan seeing the potential of rice cookers, he didn’t make an immediate decision. After all, this was just a product of one East African company, and surely other East African companies have more affordable competing products.

Displayed on the booth were a wide array of kitchen appliances, including rice cookers, rice boilers, coffee stoves, electric kettles, range hoods, electric mixers, electronic lighters, etc. These household kitchen appliances amazed Morgan.

Meanwhile, Morgan was also very interested in the conventional cookware produced in East Africa. Despite the high prestige of household appliances, the mainstream of kitchenware is naturally still dominated by traditional cookware.

But these appliances are quite ”precious.” After all, Paraguay does not have many appliance maintenance personnel to solve after-sales issues. If something goes wrong, it is almost equivalent to scrapping it, which is a significant disadvantage.

Furthermore, Paraguay’s power supply is also a significant issue, as Paraguay does not have an advanced power supply system like East Africa. Morgan definitely cannot order these kitchen appliances in large quantities.

However, the ordinary cookware produced by East Africa was entirely different. Naturally reliable in quality, their prices were also very attractive to Morgan.

As a powerful industrial nation, East Africa’s industrial production capacity is naturally not comparable to Paraguay’s. Large-scale production greatly reduces costs, making East African ordinary cookware seem of high quality and affordable.

Of course, Morgan still asked a critical question: ”Does your company have a sales office on the West Coast? After all, considering the positions of Paraguay and East Africa, trade between the two countries primarily goes through the South Atlantic route. We can’t go all the way to the East Coast to make purchases.”

The East African salesman replied, ”Of course, we have branch offices and factories in Cabinda City and Lobito City. If there is a need, you can place orders directly in Cabinda City. Here is our business card, and you can get commercial information from our company via phone.”

As he said this, he handed a card to Morgan, which besides the address of the company headquarters also had two phone numbers.

”No. 24 Canal Street, New Frankfurt City.” Morgan read the information, saying, ”Is your company headquarters set in an inland city?”

”Yes, New Frankfurt City is not far from the capital Rhein City and is an important transportation hub in East Africa. While Dar es Salaam City is only one of our branch locations, our business runs quite well on both the East and West Coasts, with many foreign collaborators.”

Jia Chef Company of East Africa is a kitchenware manufacturing enterprise that rose in New Frankfurt City, relying on the strong transportation advantages of New Frankfurt City, especially having a significant influence on the domestic kitchenware market of East Africa. Its predecessor was the Kitchenware Factory No. 2 of New Frankfurt City, a regional state-owned enterprise in East Africa.