African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1146 Taking advantage of the opportunity
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 obviously different from that of Pointe Noire.

The city of Pointe-Noire was mainly developed because Belgians fled here from their homeland, while Cabinda was developed purely for trade. The number of merchant ships from East Africa to Europe and South America increased significantly, and Gabon had not yet been developed. Geographically, Cabinda was the first city in East Africa for trade with Western Europe and South America.

The First World War not only caused chaos in Europe, but also caused European influence to shrink in other regions, such as South America. Now that Britain has gone to war with Germany, a power vacuum has been 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 gained a huge advantage at the first move. East Africa had been preparing for this war for a long time.

The nearby Belgian colonial market is obviously also a target for East Africa, but East Africa is not in a hurry for the Belgian Congo, because it is easier and earlier for East Africa to develop here.

Carson's Department Store.

This is a private department store that has been registered for two years. After all, the East African market has not been open for long, so compared with a number of private enterprises, Carson Department Store is considered to be relatively large.

However, Carson Department Store, which has only been in development for two years, is obviously not comparable to the well-funded East African state-owned department stores. Currently, the company's business scope has just occupied a certain market share in Cabinda City.

This result can be said to be quite good. After all, Cabinda is also a big 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 Belgian Congo compared Cabinda and Brussels.

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

Philippe: "Most factories in Belgium have stopped working because of the war, and Europe's trade and shipping industries have also been affected. At this time, Europe is like a Pixiu that can only eat but not spit out. The goods that should have been provided to the Belgian Congo by Belgium will also be greatly discounted. So for us, the Belgian Congo is now a very good consumer market. Now that Belgium can't take care of the Belgian Congo, it is a great opportunity for us to develop the Belgian Congo!"

Philip's manager asked, "The Belgian Congo does have a good spending power, but the population is too small. The entire Belgian Congo is about the same size as our Cabinda City, but Cabinda City is only 60 square kilometers in total, while the Belgian Congo is more than 200,000 square kilometers. Apart from Pointe Noire, there is almost no city worth mentioning in the Belgian Congo, and the population is very dispersed. For an industry like ours that requires a stable consumer population, isn't it too risky?"

Philip nodded with satisfaction and said, "Lefven, it's good that you can see the risks and problems, but you should also look at the long term. The population of the Belgian Congo is growing very fast. In addition to the high birth rate there, many Belgians are fleeing to the Belgian Congo, so the potential of the Belgian Congo is very high."

"As for population, although the Belgian Congo is large, there are places with a relatively concentrated population, such as towns and mines. These places can be said to be places where the population of the Belgian Congo is relatively concentrated. So on the one hand, we can plan the towns and villages in the Belgian Congo, and on the other hand, we must pay attention to the mining areas in the Belgian Congo."

"Most people don't think of doing business in mining areas, but mining in the Belgian Congo is relatively developed. Many Belgians live around the mining areas. We only need to open a business base to provide convenience for the workers. There is basically no possibility of failure."

The Belgians that Philip mentioned obviously also include the Chinese in the Belgian Congo. The Chinese population makes up the majority in Belgium, and the Belgian Congo is obviously not as open-minded as East Africa, so the boundary between the Chinese and Belgians is still relatively clear.

The Chinese in Belgian Congo mainly worked in low-end jobs. After the black people were abused, it was naturally impossible for these jobs to be done by Belgians.

Of course, Belgium's attitude towards the Chinese is obviously much more tolerant than in history. In his previous life, Leopold II moved a group of Chinese laborers from the Far East Empire, but the final result was naturally that there were almost no Chinese left.

But now it is completely different. Because of the existence of East Africa next to Belgian Congo, even if Leopold II regarded human life as worthless, he dared not go too far with the Chinese in Belgian Congo. Especially after East Africa developed the western region, the economy of the western region of East Africa developed rapidly. If the Belgians exploited the Chinese too harshly, they could run to East Africa, which the Belgian Congo government could not stop.

Therefore, the status of Chinese in Belgian Congo has been continuously strengthened in recent years. After all, if all the people really ran away, Belgian Congo would be doomed.

The Belgian Congo is originally a large tropical rainforest climate area. Without sufficient population, the Belgian Congo will not be able to develop stronger than Gabon under the rule of France and Germany.

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

Of course, the Chinese in the Belgian Congo were already very satisfied. After all, compared with the Far East, the Belgian Congo at that time was already a blessed land, although it was not as good as East Africa next door.

Philippe went on to say: “Moreover, we can also compete more strongly in the Belgian Congo, where there are not many competitors now, as 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 will be very attractive to ordinary people in the Belgian Congo."

“So how do we solve the funding problem?” Lewin asked.

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

"We have made a lot of money in the past two years. If we borrow some more money from the bank, it will be enough for our initial development in the Belgian Congo. Moreover, our investment in the Belgian Congo 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 set up 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 varieties. We will make corresponding expansions when our strength increases."

"As for Pointe Noire, we only need to build two 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."

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 its consumption level exceeds the sum of other areas.

However, if Philip could think of a good place like Pointe Noire, then others could certainly think of it as well. So Philip did not plan to make any big moves in Pointe Noire. Apart from other things, the East African state-owned enterprise had already opened a supermarket in Pointe Noire a few years ago.

Carson's Department Store does not have much advantage in entering Pointe-Noire at this time, but this does not mean that Carson's Department Store has no opportunities in Pointe-Noire. The population of Pointe-Noire is growing rapidly, and the trade between Belgium and Belgian Congo has been interrupted. This will create many new markets out of thin air. As long as Philip seizes the opportunity, he believes that Carson's Department Store can have a place in Pointe-Noire.

After all, Philip must have some skills to help Carson Department Store grow and develop in Cabinda. Although the domestic market economy is booming now and people can basically make money as long as there are no major problems in decision-making, Carson Department Store has become one of the industry giants in Cabinda, which is not just a matter of luck.

(End of this chapter)