African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 385: Chapter 62: Returning to Africa

Port of Dar es Salaam.

Ernst set foot on this land once more, his heart brimming with complex emotions, ”It’s different now!” Indeed, it was different; the Dar es Salaam of today was completely unlike the city he remembered from a past life.

In his previous life, Ernst’s first stop in East Africa was Dar es Salaam. At that time, Dar es Salaam was Tanzania’s most advanced city, hardly different from cities in most developed countries around the world.

The majority of African countries are like this; although they are quite backward, there are always one or two major cities that serve as windows to the world, hardly different from anywhere else. However, their urbanization rates are very low, and rural areas are in a poor state. Some places shouldn’t even be considered rural but rather indigenous reserves, where people live the lives of primitive men.

Dar es Salaam was such a typical example. Ernst’s first impression of the place in his previous life was sunshine, beaches, coconut trees, a modern port, and modern high-rises. Although it was a bit inferior to Nairobi and Mombasa, it was fairly commendable on a global scale.

Of course, Tanzania was far from being able to compete with the modernized Far East. A small county town in the Far East would be considered a major city in Europe. During Ernst’s past life, the urbanization rate in the Far East was approaching seventy percent, and with their impressive infrastructure, even sparsely populated regions like Tibet had remarkably good urban development.

Today’s Dar es Salaam was entirely different. If Ernst had to find a city that it resembled the most, it would probably be Trieste of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

It was about nine in the morning, and Dar es Salaam was bustling with activity. The passing ships generated economic prosperity, rivaling even Trieste.

”Your Highness, the city construction of Dar es Salaam is quite impressive; if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would have thought I hadn’t left Africa.”

Ernst, leaning on the ship’s railing, gazed at Dar es Salaam and replied, ”This shows that our efforts over the years have borne fruit. If East Africa’s potential can be harnessed, it could rival Europe.”

It might even replace Europe! Ernst silently added this thought, as it wasn’t an empty statement but a real possibility.

In the past, what was Africa’s shortcoming compared to Europe? It wasn’t the population, nor the resources, and not even the institutions. Africa had more people than Europe, and Europe lacked resources. Without Russia, Europe was even more so. Ernst didn’t think highly of institutions either; Africa had experimented with almost every system in the world. The US and the Soviet Union both promoted what they considered advanced systems here, yet Africa remained backward. So, Africa’s issue was economic.

Unfolding a world map reveals that Africa is almost parallel to Europe. Europe’s advantage over Africa is being on the same latitude as North America and Asia, while Africa’s competitors on the same latitude are South America, which competes for who is more underdeveloped, the small Oceania (Australia), and the fragmented Southeast Asia. Frankly speaking, Southeast Asia, despite its fragmentation, is the most promising region.

As for countries and regions in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, they are future competitors for Africa, with India being the foremost. In the future, confronting India is inevitable for East Africa, as its position and size pose the greatest threat to East African control over the Indian Ocean.

Africa shares with Europe the use of the same Indian Ocean route to Asia. Control over this route would essentially mean holding the codes to one of the world’s most lucrative corridors of wealth.

East Africa has no strong neighboring countries, only colonies worth utilizing. Yet, India is the most threatening colony, the biggest obstacle to the control of the Indian Ocean route.

If Africa could develop, then the Indian Ocean route, the most crucial trade path, would be revitalized by Africa, posing immense challenges to Europe. Its impact would be comparable to the New Maritime Route’s effect on Mediterranean economies before the opening of the Suez Canal.

However, because in the past life Africa was the world’s economic low point, Africa’s foreign trade was far from comparable to Europe. Europe’s geographical position is not as strategic as Africa’s; Africa directly faces the eastern trade routes, whereas Europe still needs the Suez, needs Cape Town, cannot circumvent Africa, otherwise it would have to rely on land or cover extra distance via the Pacific route.

To leverage this locational advantage, Africa’s economy must reach a scale comparable to Europe’s, or at least half of Europe’s, to suffice.

But all this is somewhat distant from current Africa. For now, it’s essential to lay the foundation for the East African Kingdom to have future prospects.

Ernst’s fleet passed by the coastal area of Dar es Salaam city, but instead of docking, it headed towards the southeast New Port of Dar es Salaam City.

The New Port of Dar es Salaam’s main function is to alleviate Old Port’s pressure. It’s essentially the self-used port of the East African Kingdom, so the population here isn’t large, but the port area is even larger than the old port, with more comprehensive and organized facilities.

Soon, the fleet entered the New Port, where the East African government had already prepared horses and carriages, waiting for Ernst, primarily to carry Ernst’s ”treasures.”

The pier was mostly staffed by port managers. Ernst’s visit to East Africa was quite low-key, without any welcoming ceremonies.

”If I’m not mistaken, this location in my past life should be the area of the Dar es Salaam Great Mosque and a university.” Ernst muttered to himself. Ernst deduced this based on an island across the port, which was a beach attraction in his past life, so he remembered it clearly.

”Your Highness, welcome to Dar es Salaam City. I am the manager of the New Port, the regional head of Heixinggen Ocean Trade Company in Dar es Salaam City, Mox.”

It was a subordinate of his subordinate, after all.

Ernst: ”Very good, next, organize personnel to unload the things from the ships. Those from Eastern and Chris must be handled carefully. Although they aren’t big items, they must be handled with care. If something gets chipped, I’ll hold you accountable!”

Mox, embarrassed, said: ”Yes, Your Highness!”

After two days of hustle, all the items were finally moved off the ship.

”Your Highness, should these items be taken to the railway station or directly by road?”

Ernst asked, ”Is the railway to Soga completed?”

”Your Highness, the same goes for Soga; the railway branch has been completed, although Soga itself is not yet fully constructed.”

Ernst: ”That doesn’t matter, let’s head to Soga first, leave some things there, and then proceed to First Town.”

It didn’t matter that Soga City was unfinished; Ernst knew that the National Library there was already completed. It was one of the first buildings in Soga and a focal point of Ernst’s interest in Soga City architecture.

Ernst’s purpose there was to place the books brought along in the Soga National Library. These books covered a wide range of subjects, including astronomy, geography, biology, mathematics, chemistry, and physics... Beyond books available in the market, there were also copies from various German university libraries of books rarely seen in the market.