African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 895 - 199: Export

March 2, 1894.

Kisumu City.

"Today, a total of fourteen cars were counted, along with a large amount of cargo, mainly consisting of industrial products. This shipment will be sent to Jima City and then exported to the Abyssinian Empire."

At the Kisumu Railway Station, brand new cars built by the Mombasa Automobile Manufacturing Plant arrived in Kisumu City yesterday. Mombasa is currently the only city in the northern industrial belt with the capability for complete vehicle manufacturing.

Cities such as Kisumu and Nairobi in the northern industrial belt are only responsible for producing some auto parts, which are then shipped by rail to Mombasa for assembly.

East Africa’s current automobile industry has formed five centers: Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Harare, and Bulawayo. In addition, after Ernst’s last inspection, the automobile industry in the planned New Frankfurt City may become the sixth automobile production city in East Africa.

Moreover, there are seventy-eight cities and regions in East Africa involved in upstream and downstream industries, facilitating the unification of the domestic market, thus lowering production costs and strengthening the East African automobile industry.

Among several automobile production bases, the production capacity of the East African inland automobile industry is significantly stronger than that of the coastal areas, with priority given to meeting the development needs of the inland regions.

This highlights the benefits of locating high-end industries in inland areas: even if technology and management models spill over, they will first spread to the surrounding East African regions. By the time they spread to other countries and regions worldwide, East Africa’s inland will have completed another round of product updates and technological upgrades.

Of course, coastal areas like Mombasa and Dar es Salaam are currently developing well due to their comprehensive strength. However, as competition increases, their advantages will gradually diminish. For example, New Hamburg Port, Bela Port, Cabinda Port, Luanda Port, Benguela, and nearby Lobito Port are all experiencing growth rates ahead of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.

With East Africa’s conquest of Mozambique and Angola, the monopoly of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam City over East Africa’s coastal foreign trade is expected to be diverted, forming a multi-nodal economic landscape in East Africa.

The so-called multi-nodal means that the central part of East Africa radiates in four directions: east, west, south, and north, currently exerting full force in all directions except the British Cape Town colony.

Although the north is the continent, multiple inland ports have been established, with Jima City on the border with the Abyssinian Empire standing out.

In addition, Jezira City, Dedradawa Town, and Saar City respectively connect with Egypt, the Red Sea coast, and the Sigmaringen Colony.

However, Egypt is a British colony, the Red Sea coast north of Dedradawa Town has a weak economy, and Sigmaringen is still under development, currently unable to compete with the long-established large market of the Abyssinian Empire.

Therefore, the Abyssinian Empire is an important link in the East African economic circle. Over the past thirty years, the economic trade between the two countries has continued to strengthen, especially since the relations between the Abyssinian Empire, Egypt, and Italy deteriorated. Without an outlet to the sea, the Abyssinian Empire has completely turned towards East Africa.

Currently, the Abyssinian Empire’s military, industrial, and high luxury products are almost all East African goods, with East Africa becoming the largest trading partner of the Abyssinian Empire.

This train from Kisumu to Jima City carries East African industrial products destined for the Abyssinian Empire, with trade between East Africa and the Abyssinian Empire becoming increasingly prosperous, also promoting the development of cities along the Turkana railway.

Years ago, with the completion of the Turkana railway, starting from Kisumu City, passing through the interior of Turkana Province, the west coast of Lake Turkana, then south of the Ethiopian Highlands into Jima City at the Eastern Ethiopia Border, and then from Jima City into the Abyssinian interior.

"Including today’s batch of cars, the Abyssinian Empire’s car imports from our country this year may have exceeded fifty vehicles, and it’s only March. It seems likely to exceed last year’s 167 vehicles," said railway employee Alved.

"This shows the Abyssinian Empire’s large economic scale, even if poor, the upper society’s spending power is strong. Moreover, the Abyssinian Empire is rich in resources, with agricultural and mineral products imported from the Abyssinian Empire every day on the railway. These exports create significant value for the Abyssinian, allowing the aristocrats to be so extravagant," replied coworker Andrew.

It can be said that much of the Abyssinian Empire’s agricultural and mineral resources have greatly benefited East Africa, especially the northern industrial belt and Turkana Province.

Although in previous years, war with Italy led to further territorial shrinkage, the Abyssinian Empire remains second only to Egypt as a major power in Northeast Africa.

The territory still maintains over 300,000 square kilometers, with most part remaining in its core region, except for the loss of its traditional core territory in the northeast, most other areas are suitable for farming and rich in resources and products.

The Italian Red Sea Colony expanded based on Eritrea eastward into the Abyssinian Empire territory, most of which are desert and highland plain transitional zones.

Though East Africa has annexed much of the former Ethiopian land, it mainly centers around the southern mountains (East African Rift Valley) and the arid region of Ogaden.

Thus, the overall scale of the Abyssinian Empire remains considerable. The highland region is naturally easy to hold but hard to conquer, which is the fundamental reason Italy cannot annex the Abyssinian Empire.

Of course, Italy no longer has this opportunity. Essentially, the current Italy is different from its former self, now only considered a mid-sized European country, with East Africa now stabilizing the region, the opportunity for Italy to annex the Abyssinian Empire no longer exists.

Furthermore, the loss of the northeastern territory completely negated the Abyssinian Empire’s intention to reclaim the Red Sea outlet, making it an inland country, only able to conduct economic activities with southern East Africa.

Of course, the Abyssinian Empire is not entirely at a loss in the economic relationship between the two countries. As an important crossroads in the Northeast African region, the Abyssinian Empire has restored relations with Egypt in recent years, indirectly opening trade links between Egypt and East Africa.

The restoration of relations between Egypt and the Abyssinian Empire is fundamentally due to Italy’s meddling, eliminating the original territorial disputes between the two countries.

After improving relations with neighboring countries, the Abyssinian Empire’s economy has remained stable in recent years, engaging in "middleman" business, transporting East African goods to the North African region.

With the support of the railway, transportation costs are not much higher than sea transportation, especially in Sudan, where internal transportation in Egypt is poor.

Overall, the Abyssinian Empire has thoroughly integrated into the East African economic circle, and while the trade between East Africa and the Abyssinian Empire may seem like economic colonialism, it aligns with the needs of the Abyssinian Empire.

First and foremost, after years of turmoil and colonial invasion, the Abyssinian government relies on East African arms to maintain social stability and the integrity of national territory and sovereignty.

Secondly, in its trade with the Abyssinian Empire, East Africa adopts not aggressive measures, resembling the current United States, primarily using implicit economic colonization rather than direct plunder and invasion.

Although East Africa annexed much land that formerly belonged to Ethiopia, the Abyssinian Empire is not the same as Ethiopia. These lands initially didn’t belong to the Abyssinian Empire, at most falling within its affiliated or even opposing spheres of influence.

In the former world, the Abyssinian Empire adopted Western methods of becoming powerful and eventually used force to conquer southern regions, ultimately forming Ethiopia.