African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1216: Chapter 225: Auto Show

Under the New Economic Policy, the status of East Africa’s state-owned enterprises suffered a major blow, especially local state-owned enterprises, which were hit the hardest, so many local SOEs were forced onto the path of reform.

For poorly managed enterprises, either reform succeeds, or they are eliminated by the Era; Jia Chef is one of those success stories. Not only was it not crushed, it went a step further, rapidly becoming a well-known firm in the industry, breaking out from New Frankfurt City and growing into a nationwide kitchenware manufacturer.

At present, Jia Chef is seeking to further expand its market territory, and the timing of the East Africa World Expo happens to provide exactly such a platform, saving them a lot of effort.

Of course, successful cases like Jia Chef are ultimately in the minority. Many small-scale local SOEs, with weak technological accumulation and poor management, mostly went bankrupt and were restructured, or were directly liquidated by the East African Government.

However, this does not in the least affect the leading position of East African SOEs in the national economy. After all, the basic foundation is stable, and the seemingly aggressive New Economic Policy has in fact further optimized the healthy development of East Africa’s state-owned economy today. A hundred birds in the forest are not worth one in the hand; a portion of state-owned ”assets” also means a burden.

Compared with private enterprises, the main force at this East Africa World Expo is without doubt the giant state-owned enterprises of East Africa, especially those involved in high-tech products.

In the central square in front of Sweet Palace, the exhibition area of East African carmakers brought a huge shock to exhibitors from various Asian, African and Latin American regions and countries. All kinds of flashy models filled the square.

Prince Kars was also browsing the auto show area, and Karl, sales manager of East Africa Second Automobile Plant, was accompanying the prince as his guide.

”I heard that at the Americans’ Panama-Pacific International Exposition, Ford Motor Company directly set up an entire automobile production line as a display. Why haven’t our carmakers done the same?” As the host of this East Africa World Expo, Prince Kars was thoroughly familiar with intelligence on the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

The East Africa World Expo was deliberately scheduled to clash with the United States’ Panama-Pacific International Exposition, reflecting the intense competition between the two countries in the world market, so the East Africa World Expo can be regarded as a rival to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Karl said, ”Your Highness, the reason is actually very simple: we have no need to do so. Ford Motor pulled out its production line mainly to show investors its advantage in production capacity. It is the first American automaker to adopt the assembly line, and by relying on that advantage it quickly became the largest car company in the United States.”

”But for us in East Africa, the situation is completely different. After all, the vast majority of people in the world know that East Africa is the largest automobile producer in the world.”

”Especially for the exhibitors and visitors who have come to the Expo this time—at the instant they set foot in Dar es Salaam City, they can feel our powerful automotive capacity. The cars racing through the cities and on the roads are the best advertisement.”

Just as Karl said, once one sets foot on East African soil, one can basically witness the bustling sight of streams of traffic on East African roads. There is no need at all to display a production line; people from other countries can still feel the strength of East Africa’s auto industry.

With the development of the Era, production volume is no longer the sole pursuit of East African automakers. They are instead more concerned with differentiation and customization, to open up better sales channels, so at this East Africa World Expo many models have been brought in by East Africa’s major car companies.

Kars nodded and said, ”You’re right. Our East African auto capacity really doesn’t need that kind of display to be evident. Anyone who comes to East Africa—as long as they’re not blind and not deaf—can feel the massive scale of automobiles here.”

As the number of cars in East Africa has increased, some of the noise problems caused by automobiles have begun to surface. Even with your eyes covered, in East African cities you can hear the incessant honking and the sound of cars speeding by, which is why Kars put it that way.

While Kars and Karl were talking, foreigners at the auto show, and quite a few East Africans themselves, were exclaiming in various ways.

Although in East Africa cars are already a commonplace object, a scene like this at the Expo, where top luxury cars of every kind are gathered in one place, is something ordinary people can hardly ever see.

Many citizens from First Town, Dar es Salaam City, Bajamojo City, and other parts of East Africa also made the trip, not sparing the effort, to take part in this grand event.

”Daddy, this car is so cool. Let’s buy one for our family, okay!” A little boy of only five or six, sitting on a grown man’s shoulders, pointed at a zebra-patterned car and said.

”Kleisen, this car does look quite outstanding in appearance, but it’s far too expensive. Even if I sold your dad I probably couldn’t afford it, so you’ll just have to work hard in the future yourself. Maybe then I’ll be able to bask in your glory,” the man joked with his son.

”Ah! Daddy, you’re so heavy, how could you not fetch a good price!” Little Kleisen blurted out with childish frankness.

The man lifted Kleisen down from his shoulders and cradled him in his arms instead. Then he rubbed his prickly beard against his son’s cheeks.

As he rubbed, he said, ”Oh? You ungrateful, unfilial brat, you really plan to sell your dad? If you sell your dad, who’ll buy you candy, who’ll lift you up high...”

Kleisen only felt that his old father’s stubble was especially prickly, and could only beg for mercy: ”Daddy, I was wrong. Your beard is too prickly, it’s ruining my face!”

The father and son’s banter drew hearty laughter from the people around. Quite a number of people at the Expo were just ordinary East African citizens, and Kleisen and his father were local residents of First Town City.

To ensure the success of this East Africa World Expo, First Town City had specially granted a two-day holiday, so many ordinary citizens had free time to stroll around.

The auto show at this Expo was quite a success. Many new models were snapped up as soon as they were unveiled by deep-pocketed foreigners.

In recent years, East African cars have made great progress in user experience and comfort, and their designs have become more user-friendly, so aside from a very few models, most were very popular.

On the very first day of the exhibition, over four hundred cars were sold, which also demonstrated the strong purchasing power of the Asian, African and Latin American regions—though of course this purchasing power clearly has nothing to do with ordinary people.

After all, anyone who can travel all the way to Dar es Salaam City to attend the Expo is obviously among the elites and the rich in their countries, regions, or colonies. A car, in their eyes, might be nothing more than an ordinary new toy.

Among the various regions and countries, the most unexpected was that Indian merchants bought the most. Although South American countries and regions made up the largest group of exhibitors, their combined purchasing power did not match that of Indian merchants.

This shows the powerful consumption capacity of India. But this is easy enough to understand: with a population of three hundred million, India has fattened up a large group of British colonial officials, princes and nobles, as well as some local Indian capitalists. Even at the very top of the pyramid, the number of people will not be small. The larger the population base, the broader the base of the pyramid; even if you single out only the population at the apex, it is enough to rival the population of some small countries in Europe.

Just like in the previous life, when India’s population was over a billion, Indian media boasted that the country’s middle class numbered as many as six hundred million. That was obviously impossible, but Ernst believed that several tens of millions should be there, and a population of tens of millions is already comparable to that of the vast majority of countries in the world.

Of course, the heavy spending by Indian merchants may also have something to do with geography. This Expo is being held on the East Coast of East Africa, making it much easier for the Indian merchant community to come. By contrast, it’s rather inconvenient for some South American countries.

One thing, however, is beyond doubt: India’s consumption power truly exceeded the expectations of the East African Government. No wonder India could become the main pillar of the British Empire’s hegemonic system. If the United Kingdom could have permanently maintained its colonial rule over India, it would hardly have been possible for it to fall out of the ranks of the world’s Great Powers.