African Entrepreneurship Records

  Chapter 196 Railways

   "Why, you also want to get involved in this industry?" Prince Karl Anton asked.

   "That's not true. I mainly want to test the waters in the colonies." Ernst said directly without hiding anything.

   "I'm afraid this matter is difficult to handle!" Prince Karl Anton said without hesitation, "Although I am optimistic about your talent in business, this matter may be difficult for you to make a profit!"

  According to Prince Karl Anton's idea, if the colony is used to lose money, why come here?

   "Uncle Carl, when I said test the waters, I meant building only a short distance, and didn't mean to roll it out on a large scale in East Africa." Ernst said.

"That's not right! If you are just building for fun, you don't need to ask me at all! You can go directly to a German railway company, and they should be able to start work directly! And I believe that in your capacity, no one would dare Fuck you." Prince Karl Anton said.

  In the view of Prince Karl Anton, Ernst is now a great nobleman and big capitalist in the German region. This set of configurations simply created an invincible golden body.

   And Ernst also said that he wanted to test the waters. No blind Deutsche Bahn company would offend a future prince and business tycoon for such a small profit.

   "It's actually Uncle Carl like this, and I'm also greedy for the railway market, but I also know that railways are different from those things I used to do.

  The railway technology is very mature now, and the threshold is also very high. The most important thing is that there are many railway companies in the German region, and it must be thankless to directly enter now.

  But I am also optimistic about the future development of railways. If there is no opportunity now, it does not mean that there will be no opportunity in the future. said Ernst.

"I probably understand what you mean! You really want to start this business now, but you are not optimistic about the market prospects in the near future, so you don't want to enter the market on a large scale, but want to start with a smaller scale and accumulate experience to prepare for the future. Is that what you mean?" asked Prince Karl Anton.

"Uncle Carl, this is exactly what I want to express, and I have another purpose. You know, I don't have any big business in East Africa. In fact, I just organize immigrants to farm there, so the commodity transportation in East Africa is mainly grain. , Timber and other bulk commodities.

  These goods are stupid and clumsy, but if they can’t be shipped to Europe, it’s a real loss-making business. I made the colony count on this little food and products to bring back some blood.

   But the traffic conditions in East Africa are the biggest obstacle to transporting these things. Take the rivers in East Africa as an example, there is no coherent one, and it flows directly from the plateau to the coast, and the navigation conditions are only 100 kilometers.

  Water transportation is not feasible, so I thought of the railway, but the cost of the railway is too high, and I have to experiment in East Africa before I can make up my mind to promote it. said Ernst.

After hearing this, Prince Karl Anton thought for a while and asked, "I have a question. You see, the main industry in East Africa is agriculture, right! The scale is large, and agriculture is indeed very profitable, but you transport grain from East Africa to Europe , the cost of shipping is not small, and facing the competition of food production from Germany, Hungary, France, and Tsarist Russia, can it really make money?

  And I heard from your father that you have to pay the cost separately, bringing in immigrants from outside without using the local aborigines, which is another expense, so where is the profit point of the colony in East Africa? "

  Actually, Prince Karl Anton knew that overseas colonies were very profitable. Otherwise, the British could still become the overlord of the sea with that island?

  As an out-and-out old German Junker, Prince Karl Anton really doesn't know much about the management of overseas colonies.

   After all, Austria has experience in the entire German region, but later, the result is obvious, and Austria's attempts have failed.

  In the past few decades, the European continent has not been peaceful. First, Napoleon stirred up the situation, then the Crimean War, and then Prussia fought two more battles with Denmark, and finally fought another battle with the Austrian Empire.

  Everyone’s minds are focused on the European continent, and so is the old statesman Prince Karl Anton. However, Prince Constantine of Hechingen recently went to East Africa to make Prince Karl Anton very interested in the colony of East Africa.

  Unfortunately, Constantine has already gone to East Africa, so Prince Karl Anton simply asked Ernst.

  "Uncle Karl, the East African colony is a long-term business, and there is no good or bad at the moment. After all, the East African colony is just a scrap that the big powers didn't like.

  So when I was running the East African colony, I didn't think he could make a profit, but tried to make him lose as little as possible.

  Although food is not profitable, it is large in quantity. This is also the advantage of not many colonies in East Africa, and the land area is large enough.

  Although the price cannot be sold, the production cost in East Africa is also low. The land is ready-made, but it needs to be developed, and we are only responsible for the boat fare, food and clothing for the immigrants, and there is plenty of cheap labor.

  It is really unrealistic for East African colonies to make money now, but it is possible in the future, but overseas risks are also high, so they offset each other.

  However, setting up a factory in Europe is definitely a profitable business at the moment, and the profit is high. said Ernst.

  East African colonies can actually guarantee a balance of payments and a slight surplus. After all, East Africa mainly relies on cash crops to make money, and the market in East Africa is not only Europe, but also North Africa and the Middle East.

   It’s not that Ernst is hiding his secrets. The risk of developing a colony in this era is indeed very high. Ernst also took advantage of the loopholes and picked a good time and a good place.

   "That's it! It seems that it is really not easy to develop overseas, and I am just curious, so I asked." Prince Karl Anton said.

   "Uncle Carl, there are actually good places overseas, but those places have long been scrapped by those maritime countries." Ernst said.

   "Okay, let's not talk about this! Let's continue talking about the railway! What are your plans, just say it directly, and don't make those twists and turns with me." Prince Karl Anton said.

"Uncle Carl, since that's the case, I'll just say it straight. I actually want to buy a railway company directly. The scale doesn't need to be too big, but I must have construction experience. But I'm not in that circle after all. Let me find out about the situation." Ernst said.

  The railways in the German region are developing rapidly, and there are many large and small companies.

Although Ernst is also a capitalist, he can operate in different fields. If he enters rashly, the other party may not dare to deceive himself. The railway is one of the pillar industries in Germany. The energy of those people is not much weaker than that of Ernst, and the relationship with the government is even stronger. close.

  Business is naturally as few competitors as possible. A businessman like Ernst with strong financial resources will definitely attract attention when he enters the railway field.

   And Ernst does not intend to make trouble with these people. To be honest, the fundamental reason why he wants to squeeze into this industry is to accumulate relevant technology and experience for East Africa.

   Moreover, the railway market is in good shape now, but it will not be like this in the future. When the entire market is devastated, it will be the right time for Ernst to enter in a large scale.

  (end of this chapter)