African Entrepreneurship Record

Hearing this, Wolfgang and others also relaxed a little. Von der Leyen was right. At least from the perspective of the city of Mombasa, the environment is not much different from other nearby cities in the Middle East. It's easy to say, but if East Africa recruits so many immigrants, if large-scale disease outbreaks occur frequently, it will be unable to bear the losses long ago. Immigration also requires a huge cost.

Wolfgang: "Your Excellency von der Leyen, compared to cities such as Mombasa and the Nairobi you mentioned, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa. Why don't you attract investment there?"

Von der Leyen: "Dar es Salaam is currently the largest city in East Africa, mainly because of historical reasons. It was originally Zanzibar's most important stronghold on the mainland, so it was developed early. To be precise, it is far away from Zanzibar Island. The location is close, and Zanzibar Island is the main body of the Zanzibar Sultanate. However, after the establishment of the Kingdom of East Africa, Dar es Salaam no longer has this advantage. The main body of East Africa is the mainland part, and Dar es Salaam It is just an important port in East Africa, and its conditions are somewhat worse than Mombasa."

Wolfgang: "Where do you start?"

Von der Leyen: "First of all, Mombasa is in northern East Africa. The distance to Mombasa from Europe and the Far East is closer than Dar es Salaam. I think you also understand what this means, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal, Dar es Salaam Salam is like Venice after the decline of the Mediterranean. It was replaced by a port on the Atlantic coast, and its status has further declined. Another point is that the economic structure in the west of Dar es Salaam is relatively simple, mainly growing food crops, so It is not engaged in grain trade, and it does not have an advantage compared to the Mombasa radiation area. That is to say, sisal processing is a comparative advantage industry, but Tanga City is mainly responsible for this aspect. I believe that your country has no advantage in investing in the sisal industry. .”

Von der Leyen is right. The Austro-Hungarian Empire does not produce sisal, so its experience and technology in this area are naturally not as good as those in East Africa, although the sisal industry in East Africa has only been developed for a few years.

Wolfgang: "Transportation is indeed a big problem, especially ports. With the opening of the Suez Canal, to be honest, the ports along the East African coast have deviated from the main waterway. Ports like Mombasa that are close to Europe still have some advantages."

In terms of maritime transportation alone, fortunately, Africa is close to the Eurasian continent. If it were like South America, most of East Africa would really be useless. Even North America is about the same. If it were Oceania, it would be a hellish start. Of course, when factors such as economy and resources are taken into account, the situation is very different. For example, Australia is now about the same status as Siberia, but in the future it will become a hot commodity due to its rich mineral resources.

Von der Leyen: "Do you plan to visit the specific conditions of the city of Mombasa next, so that you can have a more intuitive experience?"

Wolfgang: "I wish I could."

At Von der Leyen's signal, officials from the Mombasa city government began to lead everyone around Mombasa.

As a free port, Mombasa is divided into two areas. The inspection team just saw only the open area, so in addition to East Africans, you can also see many foreign sailors and businessmen. The business atmosphere is very strong, with pubs, casinos, and shops all available. , there are even Japanese-style "entertainment" venues, and most of their service staff are from Japan.

The west side of the open area is the real face of the East African city. Compared with the open area, it looks very shabby. Most of them are residential areas, including the municipal government and other administrative agencies. The number of pedestrians on the streets has been greatly reduced, and it looks very empty.

"Most citizens mainly work in the east, so during this period, the western city is a bit empty. It will be much better in the morning and evening, which is the time for commuting to and from get off work." Von der Leyen explained.

Wolfgang: "How many police are there in East Africa? I saw a lot of them along the way."

Von der Leyen: “This is also an important means to maintain order in East Africa. After all, public security is part of the living culture. In addition to public education, good public security also requires supervision. But don’t worry, the East African Police Department is not just a profiteering agency. , it is a convenience agency that mainly provides services to citizens. In addition to fighting crime, it will also help citizens guide the way, publicize traffic safety and laws and regulations, and improve people's quality of life and sense of security."

There are indeed more police officers in East Africa than in Europe. For crimes, including petty theft, it is best to strictly arrest them, although the crime rate in East Africa is very low.

However, the current deepest impression of East Africans on the police is the huge amount of punishments, including traffic violations, open defecation, littering...all kinds of trivial things. In Ernst's words, this is necessary to cultivate the quality of East African residents. means. The effect is not obvious yet, but in the future, when East Africans develop good habits, their power will be demonstrated. This is not a big deal. The vast majority of East African immigrants come from rural areas. They need to adapt to the living environment in cities. Compared with rural areas, cities have more rules. However, it is not enough time for these people to learn through education, but punishment can make them very easy. Grow fast.

After passing an intersection, a group of black-skinned workers appeared in front of everyone, clearing the sewers.

Von der Leyen said: "In addition to normal people, there are also a certain number of black slaves in East Africa. Depending on the project situation, we will use a corresponding number of black laborers, including if you build a factory in East Africa, you will also use some black people in the future. Reducing costs is one of the benefits East Africa provides investors. As long as you pay a small material fee, you can get the main body of the factory building you want."

Wolfgang: "Even the workers use them!"

Von der Leyen: "That's not the case. They can only be regarded as supplementing part of the labor force in East Africa, and the main workers are still East African residents."

Wolfgang: "Why not just use all black slaves, that way the cost will be lower!"

Von der Leyen: "This is related to the East African assimilation policy. Over-reliance on black slaves may cause backlash. We do not want to be like the United States and have a black race in the future."