African Entrepreneurship Record

Cabinda.

Like Pointe-Noire in Belgium, Cabinda, the second city on the west coast of East Africa, is more prosperous than before the war, but this prosperity is significantly different from Pointe-Noire.

Pointe-Noire is mainly because Belgians took refuge here from the mainland, while Cabinda is purely because of trade. The number of merchant ships from East Africa to Europe and South America has increased significantly, while Gabon has not yet been developed. Geographically, Cabinda is East Africa's answer to Western Europe and South America. The first city of South American trade.

The First World War not only turned Europe into chaos, but also reduced European power in other areas, such as South America. Now that Britain has gone to war with Germany, a power vacuum has formed in South America. The original British, French and German markets will naturally give way to East Africa. and the United States.

In this peaceful competition, East Africa took a huge advantage as soon as it took action. East Africa had been preparing for this war for a long time.

The nearby Belgian colonial market is obviously also a target of East Africa, but there is no rush for Belgian Congo East Africa, because East Africa's layout here is earlier and easier.

Carson's Department Store.

This is a private department store that has been registered for two years. After all, the market in East Africa has not been open for a long time, so compared with many private companies, Carson Department Store is relatively large.

However, Carson Department Store, which has only been in development for two years, cannot compete with the well-funded state-owned department stores in East Africa. At present, the company's business scope has only just occupied a certain market in Cabinda City.

This result can be said to be quite good. After all, Cabinda is also a large city with a population of more than 500,000, while the population of Brussels in Belgium before the war was only about 600,000 to 700,000. It is no wonder that the Belgians in the Belgian Congo combined Cabinda and Brussels on par.

Now, Philip, the owner of Carson Department Store, is meeting with his subordinates to lay the foundation for further expansion of Carson Department Store.

Philippe: "Most factories in Belgium have stopped working due to the war, and Europe's trade and shipping industries have also been affected. At this time, Europe is just eating and not spitting out, and the goods that should have been provided by Belgium to the Belgian Congo have also been affected. It will be greatly reduced, so for us, the Belgian Congo is a good consumer market now. Now that Belgium cannot take care of the Belgian Congo, it is a great opportunity for us to develop the Belgian Congo!”

Philip's manager asked: "The consumption capacity of the Belgian Congo is indeed good, but the population is too small. The entire Belgian Congo is similar to our city of Cabinda, but the total city of Cabinda is only 60 square kilometers, but the Belgian Congo is as high as 20 square kilometers. With an area of ​​more than 10,000 square kilometers, there is almost no other city in the Belgian Congo that can offer it except Pointe-Noire. The population is very scattered. Is it too risky for an industry like ours that needs to stabilize the consumer population? "

Philip nodded happily and said: "Lewin, it's good that you can see the risks and problems, but you should also take a longer-term view. Nowadays, the population of the Belgian Congo is growing very fast. In addition to the local high fertility rate, In addition, many Belgians are now fleeing to the Belgian Congo, so the potential of the Belgian Congo is very high.”

"As for the population, although the Belgian Congo is very large, it is not without places where the population is relatively concentrated, such as towns and mines. These places can be said to be where the Belgian Congo's population is relatively concentrated, so on the one hand we can lay out the Belgian Congo's population Congolese towns, on the other hand, must pay attention to the mining areas of the Belgian Congo.”

“Most people don’t think about business in mining areas, but mining in the Belgian Congo is relatively developed at present, and many Belgians live around the mining area. As long as we open a commercial base to provide convenience for workers, there is basically no possibility of failure. "

The Belgians Philip mentioned obviously also include the Chinese in the Belgian Congo, where the Chinese population accounts for the majority, and the Belgian Congo is obviously not as enlightened as East Africa, so the boundaries between Chinese and Belgians are relatively clear.

The Chinese in the Belgian Congo were mainly engaged in low-end jobs. After the black people were ruined, it was naturally impossible for Belgians to do these jobs.

Of course, Belgium's attitude towards the Chinese is obviously much more tolerant than in history. In the previous life, Leopold II moved a group of Chinese workers from the Far Eastern Empire, and the end result was that there were almost no Chinese workers left.

But now it is completely different. Because of the existence of East Africa next to the Belgian Congo, even if Leopold II regarded human life as trivial, he would not dare to compare too much with the Chinese in the Congo.

Especially after East Africa developed the western region, the economy in the western region of East Africa developed rapidly. If the Belgians exploited the Chinese too harshly, they could run into East Africa. This was something the Belgian Congo government could not stop.

Therefore, the status of the Chinese in the Belgian Congo has been continuously strengthened in recent years. After all, if they are all gone, the Belgian Congo will be finished.

Originally, the Belgian Congo was a large tropical rainforest climate area. If there was not enough population, the Belgian Congo would not be able to develop better than Gabon under the rule of France and Germany.

Now the Chinese in the Belgian Congo have actually gained substantial social status, but they are still squeezed out by the real Belgians in the cultural and ideological fields.

Of course, the Chinese in the Belgian Congo are already very satisfied. After all, compared with the Far East, the Belgian Congo in this era is already considered a blessed land, although it is not as good as the East Africa next door.

Philippe continued: "Moreover, our competition can be stronger in the Belgian Congo. There are not many competitors there now. This can be seen from the fact that many people from the Belgian Congo go to Cabinda and Kinshasa to spend money."

"If we open a supermarket next door, they won't have to go to Cabinda to shop. Boat and bus tickets are not cheap either, which is definitely very attractive to ordinary people in the Belgian Congo."

Lewen asked, "How do we solve the funding problem?"

Philip: "This is related to the company's strategic route. I think we should give up the fierce domestic competition and develop in the Belgian Congo first, and use the funds originally used to develop the domestic market next door. In addition, the land price in the Belgian Congo is cheaper than in East Africa, which is more cost-effective."

"We have made a lot of money in the past two years. If we borrow some money from the bank, it will be enough for our initial development in the Belgian Congo. In addition, we have Investment is different from that in China. "

"Except for Pointe-Noire, we don't need to build new large supermarkets in other areas. We can just build chain sales outlets, just like the early supply and marketing cooperatives in East Africa. As long as we can sell some practical products, we don't need too many types. We will make corresponding expansions when our strength is strengthened."

"As for Pointe-Noire, we only need to build two new large supermarkets. It is very convenient to transport goods from Cabinda to Pointe-Noire by sea. Fresh products can also be quickly delivered by road, and can also be purchased directly from the local area."

The Belgian Congo can be divided into Pointe-Noire and areas outside Pointe-Noire. After all, the population of Pointe-Noire alone accounts for more than one-sixth of the Belgian Congo, and the consumption level exceeds the sum of other areas.

However, if Philip can think of a good place like Pointe-Noire, others can definitely think of it, so Philip does not plan to make too much moves in Pointe-Noire. Apart from other things, East African state-owned enterprises have opened supermarkets in Pointe-Noire a few years ago.

Carson Department Store does not have much advantage in entering Pointe Noire at this time, but this does not mean that Carson Department Store has no chance in Pointe Noire. Now the population of Pointe Noire is growing rapidly, and the trade between Belgium and Belgian Congo is interrupted, so many new markets can be created out of thin air. As long as the opportunity is seized, Philip believes that Carson Department Store can occupy a place in Pointe Noire.

After all, Carson Department Store can grow and develop in Cabinda, and Philip must have two brushes in his hands. Although the domestic market economy is developing rapidly now, as long as the decision-making is not too problematic, it can basically make money, but Carson Department Store can develop into one of the industry giants in Cabinda, which is not just a matter of luck.