African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1026: Steel Industry Plan Completed Ahead of Time
Time passed quickly and it was 1905. The Russo-Japanese War had not yet ended, and the African region was not stable. In addition to the Kingdom of South Germany busy with the westward expedition, France, Germany, and Britain were also busy stepping up their infiltration into West Africa and North Africa. Spain and Portugal also continued to strengthen their military forces in African colonies to protect their few colonies in Africa. The entire West and North Africa fell into chaos.

On the other hand, the overall situation around East Africa was good. Although Italy had some ideas about the Abyssinian Empire, the security of the Abyssinian Empire, which had become an economic colony of East Africa, was naturally guaranteed by the big brother East Africa. Therefore, a possible regional dispute was quietly eliminated under the mediation of East Africa.

For the neighboring countries or colonies of East Africa, East Africa has unknowingly become a well-deserved giant in the region. After digesting Angola, Mozambique and other regions after the South African War, even Britain could no longer look down on East Africa as it did before the South African War.

Because Britain was already the most powerful force around East Africa, and the colonies of British Somaliland and Egypt (Sudan) under its control were the most powerful, it was difficult for them to pose any threat to East Africa.

Among other countries or colonies bordering East Africa, France's colonies of Gabon and Madagascar were too backward to be included in the discussion.

The Belgian Congo, the Italian Red Sea colony, and the Kingdom of South Germany were actually all political forces supported by East Africa. The only traditional native African country, the Abyssinian Empire, had completely become a follower of East Africa.

Under such favorable geographical conditions, the First Five-Year Plan of East Africa was implemented smoothly, and the East African governments could devote all their energy to industrial and agricultural development.

Geography is very important for a country's development. East African governments have always focused on maintaining political stability in their own country and its surrounding areas.

In the past, Americans liked to use geopolitical conflicts to interfere with the normal development of some countries, such as instigating small countries to make small moves around the Far Eastern Empire, using Pakistan or Bangladesh to restrict India's development, using NATO to suppress Russia's living space, and preventing Arab countries from becoming bigger through Israel.

Therefore, we should not underestimate East Africa’s positive attitude towards the security situation in its surrounding areas. If East Africa learns from Tsarist Russia or the United States, I am afraid that the entire African region will be in chaos.

With such efforts, East Africa has naturally reaped many rewards. On the one hand, its own industry has developed steadily, and on the other hand, trade with neighboring forces has continued to expand, strengthening East Africa's economic and political influence in the region.

The first point is easy to explain. Without a solid foundation for national security, the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan in East Africa will inevitably be affected. The Third Five-Year Plan of the Soviet Union in the past was forced to be interrupted due to the impact of the war.

As for the second point, East Africa provides more stable governance conditions for neighboring countries or colonies and accelerates the development of neighboring countries or colonies, which is also beneficial to East Africa.

After all, the resources of these countries or colonies must be monetized eventually. With the existence of a sovereign country, they can naturally digest them internally, but it is more advantageous to sell the developed minerals and other products to East Africa nearby.

After all, there are shipping costs to ship these outputs back to the country, and some resources may not be digested by the country itself, such as Belgium and Italy.

Although the economy is relatively developed, it is too small and the industrial chain is incomplete. In this case, some colonial products are worthless. However, if we change our thinking and choose East Africa, we may be able to turn waste into treasure.

Moreover, East Africa is right next to its colonies. Through sea or rail transportation, East Africa can consume these outputs nearby, which is more cost-effective.

To a certain extent, this has actually formed the embryonic form of an economic zone similar to the German Customs Union around East Africa.

Not to mention the Abyssinian Empire and the South German Empire, which have been fully integrated into the East African economic circle and become affiliated forces in East Africa.

...Rhine City.

As the First Five-Year Plan draws to a close, East Africa's industrial sector has begun evaluating some industrial data during the First Five-Year Plan period. The steel industry, as one of the most basic industrial sectors, is the first to update the results.

"At the end of 1904, with the commissioning of the steel mill in Letania Province (southern Angola, northern Namibia), the tasks of the steel industry during the First Five-Year Plan were completed ahead of schedule. Last year, my country's steel production reached 1905 million tons. This year, Letania Province Steel and other steel companies should be able to increase their production by hundreds of thousands of tons. In other words, in , my country's steel production capacity is likely to approach or even exceed million tons."

The steel production target in East Africa's First Five-Year Plan was to exceed five million tons. In 1904, East African companies had completed the task ahead of schedule, which was very exciting news for the East African government.

"Not only has my country's steel industry achieved superior results in terms of quantity, but according to the Ministry of Industry's forecast, in 1904 my country's steel industry will further widen the gap with Russia and France, and will be very close to the British steel production. By the end of 1905, it may even surpass the British steel industry and reach the third place in the world, second only to the United States and Germany."

Last year, Britain's steel production was also over 5 million tons. The exact figures are yet to be determined, but the statistics department estimates that it should be between 5.4 million tons and 5.8 million tons. In terms of scale alone, East Africa is already very close to Britain's level.

Russia is still ranked fifth in the world and France is ranked sixth in the world. Both countries are at the level of more than 2 million tons. Compared with Russia, France's steel industry is developing very fast.

In 1900, France's steel production was only more than one million tons, while Russia had reached more than two million tons at that time, so Russia basically made no progress. After all, Russia had suffered a severe economic crisis since the first year of the 20th century.

Currently, Russia's steel industry has recovered after the economic crisis, and as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, in fact, between 1900 and 1902, Russia's steel industry was affected by the economic crisis and declined instead of increased. Therefore, the lack of significant increase in Russia's steel production was completely within the expectations of the East African government.

As for the accelerated development of the French steel industry, it can be described as a journey of sweetness after bitterness. Since the Franco-Prussian War until the 1990s, the French economy was first hit hard and then remained in a state of slow growth, in sharp contrast to Germany's rapid development.

In the late 1990s, the French economy finally emerged from its long-term downturn. First, as time went by, France emerged from the impact of the war. Second, France's overseas colonies also began to feed back to France's domestic industry.

The period of the First Five-Year Plan in East Africa can be said to be the best period for the French economy in recent decades. In the context of a shortage of local energy and mineral resources, the rapid expansion of steel production capacity and the pace of development with Russia are very telling. According to estimates by the East African government, between 1906 and 1907, France's steel production is likely to surpass that of Russia again.

Due to its early industrialization, France's steel production was actually higher than Russia's in the past. It was only in recent years that Russia's steel production surpassed France's.

As for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it is currently competing with Belgium for the seventh place in the world. Although Belgium has a small land area, it is indeed a real power in the steel industry, and is often on par with the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Belgium is rich in local coal and iron ore resources, which are the kind of things that God has gifted it. Whether Germany or France takes over Belgium, it will allow their own industries to move forward.

In 1900, Belgium's steel production was over 1904 tons, which was more than that of many major countries in the world. According to the forecast of the East African government, last year, that is, in , Belgium's steel production may have exceeded one million tons, which is a level far higher than that of most countries in the world.

(End of this chapter)