African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1317: Chapter 326: Kampala

Everything East Africa did in Russia went very smoothly. During this period, the Russian Labor Party had no time to integrate the country’s resources, as their primary goal was to deal with the backlash from domestic reactionary forces.

Forces like the Nobel family, who couldn’t see the situation clearly, were countless in Russia, which made it easier for East Africa to clear out its assets in Russia.

The assets withdrawn from Russia, combined with the profits obtained from sales, plus the illicit gains ”seized” from Russia by East Africa, resulted in East Africa making a substantial profit. Not only did they achieve a full withdrawal before the Labor Party took complete power, but they also made the East African treasury and the Rhein Royal Family even richer.

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Kampala.

Since East Africa began tilting its policies towards the Great Lakes Region, the development of the cities of Kampala and Kisumu in the area has been particularly rapid.

Apart from being located in the Great Lakes Region, it also benefited from being part of the northern urban belt of East Africa. Though the broader northern region of East Africa is not small, when it comes to the most core area for economic development, it is naturally along the northern railway line.

After all, the northern railway is the only main line that connects most northern cities together via rail transportation.

Major northern cities in East Africa, including Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu, and Kampala, are situated along this line. Other cities, such as Jisan City, Bangui, and Libreville, though relatively smaller in scale, are also regional centers in their own right.

Therefore, Kisumu and Kampala are both cities in the Great Lakes Region and key cities on the northern railway, making it difficult not to develop under these dual factors.

Of course, Kampala has one more advantage over Kisumu, which is that Kampala is the capital of North Lake Province, while in Kisumu’s province, Nairobi sits above it.

However, this also represents another kind of advantage. After all, Kisumu’s province, South Prussia Province, was developed early and is relatively more financially affluent than North Lake Province, but that is its limit.

Although North Lake Province developed relatively later, its population, resources, and environmental advantages are much stronger than those of South Prussia Province. If East Africa had fully developed the Great Lakes Region’s industry earlier, it would be hard to say who would hold the upper hand today.

Currently, Kampala is fully focused on developing four major industries: oil, chemicals, textiles, and non-ferrous metals.

The rich petroleum resources of North Lake Province form the basis for the development of the oil industry in Kampala City. However, Kampala City places more emphasis on the chemical industry derived from oil. In addition, Kampala City has abundant rubber resources, and the province’s agriculture is relatively developed, creating a high demand for chemical-related products such as fertilizers and pesticides, making the chemical industry a key focus direction for Kampala City.

As for the textile industry, Uganda was once a colony where the United Kingdom promoted cotton cultivation. Under East African governance, the cotton production of North Lake Province is even more outstanding than it was previously, particularly in its northern areas.

Lastly, non-ferrous metals also align with the resource distribution characteristics of the Great Lakes Region. The region lacks coal, steel, and other minerals; or rather, the reserves are not as abundant as southern East Africa. Therefore, leveraging strengths while avoiding weaknesses and developing local advantageous industries become inevitable.

Even so, the economic development prospects of Kampala City remain very optimistic. After all, apart from provincial resources, it is also a necessary material distribution center for the Nile River Basin and the surrounding Turkana Lake Basin.

Since the overseas export of goods from most northern parts of East Africa depend on the northern railway, this makes Kampala a core hub where important rail, road, and waterway transportation intersect.

”The development of Kampala is truly changing with each passing day, especially in the past three years; describing it as progressing by leaps and bounds is not an exaggeration,” Yevre said, maneuvering his family’s ship, the Yevre, as he looked at the newly completed Kampala Port.

With the economic liberalization, many East African state-owned transport companies that once operated widely on the Great Lake have withdrawn from the historical stage, and private ships are widely appearing on the Great Lake.

The Yevre is a small cargo ship manufactured by the East African Entebbe Shipyard in 1907, which previously belonged to a small transport company.

By 1913, this company exited the historical stage due to financial difficulties, and its assets were sold off by the East African Government, with the Yevre being one of them.

Of course, the ship was evidently not called the Yevre at first; it only acquired this name after Yevre bought it, for which Yevre had to borrow quite a bit of money at that time.

However, over these past few years, not only did he completely pay off his loans and debts, but Yevre himself also made considerable gains, all thanks to the European war’s stimulus to East Africa’s domestic exports.

Yevre’s wife said from the side, ”Indeed, Kampala has changed every year over the past few years, nearly merging with Entebbe.”

Kampala and Entebbe, along with Jinga City, a rising new city, can form the economic core within North Lake Province along the shores of the Great Lake.

Among them, Kampala and Entebbe have always been relatively close, and with the development of the past three years, the two cities are nearly merging together.

Yevre said to his wife, ”This is a good thing. Although the construction of the Xingguo Dam once affected our business for some time, we have become even busier now.”

At the time, in order to construct the Xingguo Dam, the entire water area of the Great Lake was elevated. As a response to this change, the East African Government carried out a unified expansion and renovation of the ports along the coast.

During this process, it was evident that many Great Lakes Region ports had to temporarily cease operations, but this process only took just over a year.

Subsequently, cities in the Great Lakes Region entered an expansion phase, and urban construction naturally spurred demand in areas such as cement, steel, and equipment, which also stimulated shipping in the Great Lakes Region.

Moreover, the newly renovated ports have greatly improved operational efficiency, with more advanced equipment making East African transportation more convenient.

Yevre’s business primarily involves grain transportation. In the past, bulk cargo like this had to be loaded and unloaded at Kampala Port with the help of dock workers and sailors, but now Kampala Port is directly equipped with track transportation equipment, greatly saving time.

Of course, this also placed higher demands on the ships in the Great Lakes Region. Many outdated ships were thus eliminated; however, the Yevre is obviously not among them, especially considering its production was during East Africa’s second five-year plan period, and the ship’s launch time was relatively recent.

Yevre’s wife said, ”In another year or two, when we’ve saved enough money, we can take out another loan from the bank to purchase a new cargo ship, as the shipping prospects on the Great Lake are now very promising.”

”Especially the noticeable increase in freight transport between surrounding cities. When the time comes, we’ll let Elva use the new ship for business, and we can continue to use the old ship for a few more years.”

Elva is Yevre and his wife’s eldest son; they have three children in total, two sons and a daughter. The eldest son and daughter are already adults, while the younger son has yet to graduate.

At this point, Yevre smiled and said, ”Elva has already told me that he also wants to be a captain. So by the end of next year, we’ll fulfill his wish. He probably has saved up quite a bit over these years, so by then, our pooled resources will surely be enough to buy a new ship.”

The shipping market of the Great Lake is still relatively wide, and unlike the ocean and ordinary rivers, the waters here are much safer and more stable. Earning more, having more time, and safety—these three attributes are enough to make jobs for crew members on the Great Lake more sought after.

In recent years, the market boom in the Great Lakes Region has driven the prosperity of the shipping industry, resulting in stable income, which means that as long as one doesn’t act recklessly, they can make money. Compared to ocean shipping, the time for Great Lake shipping is shorter, allowing it to frequently dock ashore, preventing long periods of floating at sea.

Safety needs no further explanation. Although the area of the Great Lake exceeds 70,000 square kilometers, it is still just a lake with no massive winds and waves. And with many ships on the route, even if an emergency occurs, rescue can be expected promptly.