African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1126 Hand-Rubbing Radio

The East African Defense Force has built a strong regional army with deterrence that can meet East Africa's domestic defense needs. As for overseas territories, that is another matter. East Africa has quite a few overseas territories, including the newest Beibu Gulf territory, which is Ernst's favorite and has a large number of troops stationed there. The second largest territorial territory is Alaska.

However, except for the garrisons outside the Beibu Gulf territory, they can basically be ignored. If other countries really want to make things difficult for the overseas territories in East Africa, most of them will not be able to withstand the arrival of East African support.

For example, Alaska is really far away from East Africa. If the surrounding countries are determined to target Alaska, East Africa will have no choice but to give up.

Therefore, the troops stationed in East Africa's overseas territories other than the Beibu Gulf territory are generally symbolic in nature and the number of troops is not large. The ability to ensure security depends entirely on the deterrent power of East Africa itself.

The main reason is that the locations of most overseas territories are not very good. They are all in the east of the Strait of Malacca, and the Strait of Malacca is not under the control of East Africa, which makes East Africa out of reach.

The Beibu Gulf territory is different. On the one hand, East Africa has relocated a lot of people and stationed troops there. On the other hand, the Beibu Gulf territory is within the coverage of the East African Navy, so it is very convenient to travel to the Persian Gulf from Mogadishu.

Although Britain also controls the access to the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean is the base of the East African Navy after all, so the East African Navy is confident that it can break through the blockade of the Persian Gulf.

Including the colonial garrisons in East Africa, the total military strength in East Africa is as high as 520,000, most of which are stationed in the Tonkin Gulf Territory and Alaska Territory.

……

City of Dar es Salaam.

On a lawn in Anthony Park, two boys were plotting something furtively.

As a garden city, Dar es Salaam has numerous urban parks for citizens to relax. As important urban artificial landscapes, some parks naturally become gathering places for everyone.

Anthony Park is the secret base of Bob and Li Wright. There is an open space in Anthony Park. Because it is relatively remote, few people come here.

One of them said, "Bob, where did you get these parts? They look brand new."

On the grass, a gray cloth package had been opened, and inside was all kinds of electronic components. This package was brought by Bob.

The young man named Bob said: "My second uncle is a security guard in an electrical appliance factory, so I relied on his connections to get these electronic components for me. Now that the market is open, I also want to make some money, so I plan to assemble a radio with these parts and then sell it."

Li Lai Te said: "You are really brave, but with so many components, are you sure you can succeed? Also, without external packaging, it will be difficult to sell the finished product!"

Bob said with some pride: "Assembling a radio is not a difficult task for me. I was quite knowledgeable about electrical appliances when I was in middle school. Do you remember the crystal radio I made in school? Although it was relatively crude, the main reason was the lack of raw materials at that time. Now that we can get the components directly from the factory, we can definitely make better radio products."

Li Lai Te also remembered that when he was in middle school, his good friend liked to tinker with some gadgets and made a lot of small electronic products based on textbooks. Although many of them had no practical use, they did train Bob's hands-on ability.

So it was not difficult for Bob to assemble the radio by himself, but this did not dispel Li Lai's doubts.

He then asked, "But I'm afraid no one will buy the toys you made in middle school! It's okay if they are used as science experiment toys, but they can't be made without external packaging. There is no radio shell in the components here, so it's impossible to leave them exposed directly!" Bob explained, "This is very easy to do. Just make a wooden shell and glue it together. I have seen the external packaging of the finished radios in the factory, and I know their structures very well. They can be made by hand. Although they don't meet the unified standards of the factory, they are definitely more than enough for use."

After that, Bob started to assemble it. Because of his hobby, Bob bought a set of tools when he was in middle school, including pliers, screwdrivers, etc.

After a while, a radio without a shell was born in Bob's hands. After Bob installed the battery and debugged it, clear human voices soon came from this unfinished radio.

Bob was very satisfied with his work. He said, "I will find the plate tomorrow and make the shell of the radio. What do you think about selling this handmade radio?"

Li Lai Te had been watching his friend rubbing the radio with great interest. When he heard Bob's question, he replied, "It should be good, but it is still a little different from the ones made in the factory, so we set the price lower and it will still sell."

After hearing his friend's answer, Bob said, "Now that the market is open, I don't want to follow my parents' arrangement and go to the factory for internship, so I plan to start my own small business. Do you want to join?"

Li Lai Te hesitated and said, "It's more reliable to make some extra money by watching the radio, but we still have to consider the job carefully. After all, we have just graduated. If we don't work in the factory now, it may not be easy to find a stable job in the future."

Bob frowned and said, "But the factory I was assigned to is a hemp textile factory. The working environment is not very good. I don't want to waste my time there."

Li Lai Te: "But the assigned jobs are at least relatively stable. Although there are many people doing small business now that the market is open, they cannot guarantee a stable income. It would be safer for us to work for a while and use our spare time to resell radios. It would be more prudent to quit and start a business when we can guarantee a profitable business."

Bob: "What you said makes sense, but I can't stand the sour smell in the hemp textile factory. If I can get into the electrical appliance factory, I don't need to consider looking for other ways out."

Entrepreneurship is now a very fashionable word in East Africa and has begun to have an impact on the entire East African society. After the market was liberalized, some state-owned enterprises in East Africa also began to get rid of some burdens and reduce jobs, and these jobs flowed to the free employment market.

Bob is a man with more ideas. He does not plan to work in a factory in a permanent position as a fresh graduate, but instead joins the ranks of entrepreneurs.

However, a poor student like Bob obviously did not have much capital, so he thought that the business of tinkering with radios was very suitable for him. On the one hand, he had the relevant skills, and on the other hand, it was in line with his interests and hobbies.

Because of the universal compulsory education, there is no shortage of talents among middle school students in East Africa. With a little training, most of them can become excellent technical workers. However, there are still only a few people like Bob who can independently assemble radios based on their knowledge after graduation.

Logically speaking, people like Bob should be assigned to work in an electrical appliance factory. However, as an assembly plant, an electrical appliance factory is actually a relatively decent job in East Africa. Opportunities are rare and do not require very high skills.

Therefore, the staff had been fully recruited long ago. As for the hemp textile factory, it was obviously not as promising as the electrical appliance factory. Bob also did not like working in the textile industry, so Bob decided to try his luck outside.

Bob said to Li Lai Te: "I can get a stable supply channel from my second uncle. I just need to assemble these components into finished products and then sell them. Radios are still relatively scarce on the market and are expensive. As long as we can control the cost, we can definitely make a lot of money. As long as we take advantage of the current national policy to earn start-up capital, we can do some other business in the future."

Bob still hopes to get Li Lai Te to join the business. It is too much for one person to do, and it would be easier if there were more people. Of course, there can't be too many. According to Bob's calculations, this kind of small business is best done by two or three people at the beginning.

(End of this chapter)