African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1494: Chapter 36: Talent Recruitment

”In the central area of Kitwe City, preliminary transformations have already been undertaken. By the end of this year, a total of over a dozen medium and large enterprises and hundreds of small workshop-style production enterprises will be shut down, significantly reducing industrial waste in Kitwe City.”

Throughout the entire year of 1921, the primary focus of Kitwe City’s government was this issue, which also significantly affected the city’s fiscal revenue, making it difficult to immediately compensate for the loss.

Nevertheless, Kitwe City gained something from this, as it shut down the most severely polluting companies and numerous small workshops, bringing overdue new changes to the city center.

Although towering chimneys can still be seen in Kitwe City, emitting smoke into the sky, they no longer cover half of the city skyline as before.

There were times in the past when the visibility in Kitwe City’s downtown area plummeted due to industrial production, threatening citizens’ health, though not as exaggerated as London.

Nowadays, industrial activity in Kitwe City has drastically declined, and the remaining factories are the lifeblood of Kitwe City, at least irreplaceable in the short term.

For these enterprises, Kitwe City’s policy is to reform where possible, while providing help in other areas.

Whereas Kitwe City was once enveloped in dense smoke, now the airborne emissions are more akin to a few ink marks on a blank sheet of paper, somewhat poetic.

Replacing those heavily polluting enterprises are companies and institutions whose primary business focuses on consumer and commercial services, although they are not enough to replace the banned factories, they keep Kitwe City’s economy from looking too bleak.

It’s important to know that, currently affected by economic depression, the entire East African economy is at a stage of stagnant development, so Deberne does not want Kitwe City to induce market panic and lead to a chain reaction due to overly obstinate policies.

However, the current economic situation in Kitwe City has already caused widespread complaints and grievances against Deberne.

Deberne is acutely aware of the significant decline in his public support during his tenure. Nonetheless, he is not easily swayed by rumors or short-term difficulties.

In fact, Deberne’s term is less than two years now, and he is likely to step down before the completion of the five-year plan.

Yet, Deberne’s conscience tells him that his series of actions are fundamentally correct; he is considering the long-term future of Kitwe City. Otherwise, an unchanged Kitwe City could quietly fade into obscurity, becoming a peripheral city in East Africa.

Hence, Deberne said, ”Now, economic transformation can no longer be halted, and if the film industry can take root in Kitwe City, it will undoubtedly be a great boon for the city.”

”In January next year, the city government will organize personnel to investigate the film industry in Mombasa and Rhein City, striving to attract some industry professionals to start businesses and develop in Kitwe City.”

”Especially graduates with excellent achievements from Rhein City’s higher education sector, we in Kitwe City should provide them with an excellent development environment, whether for entrepreneurship or employment, making them feel Kitwe City’s sincerity.”

”And within the city, our support for the film industry is twofold: one is the official level, where the city radio station will separate a group of personnel to establish a television station.” 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

”On the civil level, introduce private enterprises into Kitwe City for investment in film industry projects and enhance cooperation with Mombasa and Rhein City...”

Truthfully, Deberne admits he is still largely in the dark about how to develop the film industry. After all, the film industry is an emerging sector worldwide, having only started forming in the late 1980s and fully shaped by the early 20th century.

Thus, Deberne can only strive to find ”professionals” to help Kitwe City establish a development platform for the film industry. As the saying goes, inter-industry differences are substantial, and due to his limited understanding of the film industry, he can only attempt to reach for higher resources.

For instance, Kitwe City’s radio station is one of the city’s industries. Deberne believes this is the city unit most closely aligned with the film sector, so tasking them to assist the city government in building a television station is somewhat of a workable solution.

Presently, throughout East Africa, there are only four television stations, two in the capital Rhein City, followed by one each in Mombasa City and Dar es Salaam City.

This shows how niche, or even rare, television stations are currently in East Africa.

Therefore, besides his own efforts, Deberne can only seek guidance from Rhein City, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam City to bring in technology and personnel, thereby establishing a platform.

Especially the university students in Rhein City, they are the best candidates for Kitwe City to attract.

Thus, at the beginning of 1922, Kitwe City government officially launched the actions for introducing and building the film industry.

Deberne personally led a team to Rhein City, and recruited talents at the National Media University, Film Academy, and Art Academy.

The initial actions in Kitwe City progressed smoothly. Despite being a burgeoning sector, not many in East Africa realize this fact, allowing Kitwe City to succeed where others may have overlooked opportunities, sparing Kitwe City competition from other cities, especially major ones.